The first commencement at Elon College took place June 2-3, 1891. Commencement exercises were held in the Old Main Administration building and included a Baccalaureate Sermon by the Reverend C.J. Jones of Norfolk, Virginia and an annual address by Judge T.B. Womack of Pittsboro, North Carolina. The class of 1891 included three graduates: N.G. Newman, C.C. Peel, and Herbert Scholz. Irene Johnson Cook was the only student and first female to graduate from Elon College in 1892. Commencement exercises were held in the Old Main Administration building, until it was destroyed by fire on January 18, 1923. The tradition of Commencement Under the Oaks began in 1923, as there was no other viable space option on campus to hold graduation after the Old Main building was consumed by fire. As stated in the May 18, 1923 issue of the student newspaper , “This commencement promises to be the best of all Elon’s commencements, but the thing which makes it unique is the fact that it will mark the end of an old era and the beginning of a new in the history of the college.”

After the Old Main Administration building burned in 1923, five new buildings were constructed and are still standing on campus today. The buildings that were constructed between 1923-1925 included: Alamance, Carlton, Whitley, Mooney, and Duke. Beginning in 1924, commencement exercises were held in Whitley Auditorium. Over the next several years, graduations were held in different places on campus including, Whitley Auditorium and Alumni Gymnasium. Commencement Under the Oaks was reinstated on May 23, 1987 and has continued ever since to be a long-standing tradition known at Elon today.