ATHENS — Ohio University has announced the winners of this year’s Paint the Town Green competition, the annual decorating contest that turns residence halls, offices and departments green and white for Homecoming in Athens.
The university said Oct. 16 that the Jefferson/Johnson Complex took first place among residence halls with a Candyland theme. The contest is sponsored each year by the Ohio University Alumni Association and invites halls, departments and offices across campus to decorate for Homecoming 2026.
Carr/Sowle Complex finished second among the halls with a Monsters University theme, and Boyd/Ryors Complex placed third with a jungle theme. Photos shared by the university showed balloons, streamers and Homecoming signs filling common rooms in the winning halls.
In the departments competition, first place went to the Honors Tutorial College’s Burtch House, which was decorated outside with green and white balloons, a Homecoming sign and large HTC letters. Nelson Dining Court took second, and the Graduate College placed third.
The winning displays were built around props as much as paint. At Burtch House, a Rufus the Bobcat balloon and an Ohio flag joined the balloons outside, while inside one department entry turned a football goalpost made of balloons into its centerpiece. At Nelson Commons, long rows of green and white balloons framed the dining court’s sign, and in the Jefferson/Johnson halls a Candy Land-style treatment carried the theme from the Alumni Gateway sign through the decorated rooms.
The Ohio Business Service Center received an honorable mention in the department judging. The Graduate College entry leaned into a squirrel theme, with a sign urging supporters to go nuts for the college and a decorated animal figure wearing an Ohio football jersey.
Participation stretched well beyond the winners. Seventeen departments and offices took part this year, from Airport Operations and the Central Food Facility to the School of Nursing, the Veterans Center and the dining halls.
Twelve residence hall communities also decorated, including Adams Hall, McDavis Hall, Perkins Hall, Shively Commons and the Washington-Read Complex. The university thanked everyone who helped decorate, saying each entry added to the festive atmosphere on campus during Homecoming week for Bobcats of all ages.
