HBCU Homecoming at Florida A&M University got a celebrity boost this week as rapper Gunna joined students and alumni for the school’s annual 5K while helping support $10,000 in scholarships.
Gunna and his Wunna Run Club participated in FAMU’s fifth annual Walmart-sponsored Homecoming 5K Run/Walk on Thursday at Bragg Memorial Stadium. The event brought together fitness, celebrity involvement and student support during one of the university’s biggest weeks of the year.
Walmart and Wunna Run Club committed a combined $10,000 in scholarships to five FAMU students pursuing majors with a health-related component. Each student will receive $2,000.
The partnership adds another layer to a race that has become part of the Florida A&M University Homecoming tradition.
Gunna brings Wunna Run Club to FAMU
Gunna launched Wunna Run Club after making fitness a more visible part of his personal brand. His inaugural 5K in Brooklyn drew more than 1,000 runners, according to FAMU.
At Florida A&M University, the rapper joined a Homecoming race that had already reached capacity before race day. Registration was free, and organizers offered commemorative shirts, awards and medals for the first 350 finishers.
Walmart has sponsored the event for five years.
“What has made this sponsorship so meaningful is that it’s never been about just sponsoring a race—it’s about showing up consistently for a community we genuinely value,” Regine Moore, Walmart’s director of Constituent Relations and Corporate Affairs, said.
That consistency makes the activation more than a one-time Homecoming advertisement.
The company is attaching its name to wellness programming, scholarships and an annual campus tradition while gaining visibility among FAMU students, alumni and supporters.
HBCU Homecoming becomes business platform
The event also illustrates the expanding commercial value of HBCU Homecoming.
Corporate sponsors increasingly use Homecoming to build direct connections with students rather than relying only on signs, advertisements or football-game sponsorships.
In this case, Walmart’s involvement includes both an event and direct student financial support.
Gunna’s participation extends that reach into music and culture.
He also headlined FAMU’s Thursday night Homecoming concert alongside Summer Walker, T.I. and Belly Gang Kushington.
For Florida A&M University, the partnership connects several elements of Homecoming at once — wellness, entertainment, corporate sponsorship and student support.
The next question is how much value each side receives from the relationship.
FAMU has not publicly disclosed the total value of Walmart’s sponsorship or whether the university receives additional financial support beyond the scholarships and event sponsorship.
That makes the $10,000 scholarship investment the clearest measurable benefit announced so far.
For five FAMU students, however, that benefit is direct.