Just like football coaches, true tailgaters have a game-day plan.
They arrive at the stadium hours before kickoff to fire up their grills, set up themed displays in team colors and get the party started. These pregame warm-up parties are a rite of fall at football stadiums across the country, and the Mocs Nation is no exception.
Jayne Holder, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga assistant vice chancellor for alumni affairs, estimates Mocs game days draw more than 1,000 fans to First Tennessee Pavilion and Finley Stadium parking lots for tailgating parties.
“There are 26 tailgating spots inside the pavilion and, on a good day, they might each average 40 or more people. Plus the whole north parking lot is full of tailgaters,” she says. “It’s amazing how the numbers have grown. As the football team has re-established a winning tradition, the numbers have increased each year.”
Holder says tailgating areas in First Tennessee Pavilion are purchased, donor-related spots; but anybody who pays to park in Finley Stadium’s north parking lot may tailgate for free – and most do.