BATON ROUGE — Southern University's homecoming parade rolled through the Scotlandville area, kicking off the university's homecoming week celebrations.

The parade featured floats, marching bands and dance groups from across the capital area.

The annual parade has been a tradition for decades, bringing together Southern University students, alumni and members of the Scotlandville community.

This year, the parade was moved to the Sunday before the homecoming game, only the second time in the event's history that it has been scheduled for six days before the game.

The change was made to help ease traffic, since multiple roads leading to campus close for hours during the parade, creating backups throughout the day. Some said traffic on game day still felt about the same last year, even without the parade.

"It's still bad, but hey, we're all out here to have a good time," one attendee said.

Some said the crowds appeared smaller with the new date.

But for Andrea Dunn, the day does not change her commitment to the tradition.

"I don't care what day they put it on. They could put it on a Monday, and we're going to be there. Believe that," Dunn said.

The Southern Jaguars will face the Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions in the homecoming game this Saturday, Oct. 3. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

For a list of homecoming week events, click here.