The Homecoming King traditionally walks across the football field at halftime next to the Queen in his suit and crown. But Henry ‘Beanee’ Mitchell is not one for tradition.

Sporting his number 31 jersey, Mitchell swapped his crown for a helmet during Saturday’s game.

Henry Mitchell IV, known by his friends as Beanee, never really considered running in the homecoming elections until this semester.

“I didn’t know that much about homecoming until Kemper Block suggested I should run for king,” Mitchell said.

As a member of the football team, Mitchell was concerned he wouldn’t be able to participate in the homecoming events if he was elected. Mitchell said he first went to head coach Todd Berry to ask permission to run for homecoming king.

“Coach Berry said it was okay, but I don’t think he thought I was actually going to win,” Mitchell said with a laugh.

Mitchell said that at first he didn’t realize the campaigning would be so competitive. It wasn’t until he was chosen for a run-off election that he realized the other candidates had a lot of support. Mitchell upped his game and began promoting himself on campus and on Twitter just in time.

“I just tried to encourage everyone to vote even if they weren’t going to support me,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell originally came to ULM from Douglassville, Ga., to play football. However, once he arrived on campus, he became more involved. Mitchell is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity, and he also participated in Prep Staff this past summer and bonded with the freshman class.

Homecoming Queen Kylie Stracener said she was very excited that Mitchell was elected king.

“I’m so excited for Beanee. He’s really doing something out of the ordinary for athletes, and I think it’s awesome that coach Berry let him try out,” Stracener said.

Although Mitchell was not able to walk on the field during halftime, his mother stood in his place, and his picture was shown on the video board. Amanda May, director of student life, said that this was not a problem at all.

“We want our football team to be focused during halftime, and the last thing we want is to create a distraction,” May said.

Mitchell said that although he was not able to be presented at the game, he hopes to hold a barbeque in the quad this week to thank the student body for supporting him as Homecoming King.