Top 10 Tailgating Destinations
1. Ole Miss
No surprise here. The Grove, as the tailgating area at the University of Mississippi is widely known, is a mainstay atop these lists, and I just can’t stray from the flock here. Grove regulars dress to impress, fully embracing the classic southern charm embodiment. The casual onlooker will observe the bow ties, seersucker, blazers and cocktail dresses with confusion and intrigue, but college football enthusiasts admire the longstanding tradition. It’s truly a social “who’s who?” first, a tailgate second, and a football game third. Another unique tradition setting the Ole Miss tailgate apart from others is the Walk of Champions (don’t know how it got that name). This is a walkway through the heart of The Grove where drunkards line up and wait for the team to pass through on their way to the stadium with hopes of dapping their favorite player. It truly is the most unique college football setting in the country, and any tailgating bucket list is incomplete without a stop in Oxford, Mississippi.
Note: Neutral game settings not considered. If you were hoping to see the World’s Largest Cocktail Party or the Red River Shootout, sorry. Not this time.
Did I leave off your school? Which school should be on this list, and why?
Bama is not on here. This is dumb.
13 years ago at 2:56 pmmade the “others receiving votes” category.
13 years ago at 3:08 pmThis is the part where every SEC school that didn’t make the cut bitches and moans about why this list is bullshit
13 years ago at 3:11 pm^ this
13 years ago at 3:16 pmThe Quad at Bama deserves a spot on the list. A little surprised Florida did not make it it either.
13 years ago at 3:28 pmuh yeah cause every sec school fucking blows it out and tailgates better than everyone.
13 years ago at 4:30 pm^Yes. You are correct.
13 years ago at 4:42 pmHow are bama, UF, and UGA not on here???
13 years ago at 6:34 pmFuck UF, but Bama and UGA should for sure be on here. To be fair, I haven’t traveled to about half of these schools, so I can’t fairly discredit the post for the most part.
13 years ago at 5:09 amIm glad to see that uga is not up here. We dont need to be told how hard we party/tailgate. Ever since we got #1 party school the university has been “cracking down” on partying. they already took north campus from us…
13 years ago at 8:37 amBama, Auburn, and UGA should all be on this list.
13 years ago at 8:59 amUF, UGA, and Bama definitely deserve to be on this list
13 years ago at 11:23 amNever been to most of these schools outside of the SEC, but how could you include Tenn and South Carolina and not include Bama, Auburn, UGA, or UF?
13 years ago at 11:27 amMeant to say Clemson, not South Carolina..lap taken
13 years ago at 11:30 amBama should definitely be on the list!
13 years ago at 1:35 pmAlso, the body of Christ and holy wine do not count as tailgating. Thanks, Notre Dame.
13 years ago at 1:36 pmPitt State
13 years ago at 3:04 pm^Take a lap. Pitt State? Are you in the same division as ITT Tech?
13 years ago at 4:21 pmMichigan’s tailgate are located on a golf course. TFM.
13 years ago at 4:33 pmDivision 2. ITT Tech is Division GDI.
13 years ago at 4:50 pmDivision 2 may as well be Division GDI….
13 years ago at 6:14 pmPurdue tailgates on a golf course as well, didn’t know it was so popular.
13 years ago at 9:13 pmI’ve been to that shithole called Pittsburg, Kansas. The only fraternity i saw looked like a fucking joke. Yes, your football team is good… FOR DIVISION 2. Take another lap.
13 years ago at 8:33 amPitt State, who is you?
13 years ago at 11:22 amthat place isn’t real
13 years ago at 2:40 pmYou put Penn State and Wisconsin, but not Ohio State? Horrible.
13 years ago at 3:11 pmthat’s because Ohio state sucks. I know a D2 school that partys, plays and tailgates harder. Not saying yall dont party im just saying you guys dont party as hard or crazy as the schools on the list.
13 years ago at 3:14 pmTailgated at Ohio State on multiple occasions. It sucks ass.
13 years ago at 3:32 pmWhen you’re a school like Ohio State with a student body and following that’s as big or bigger then any other school in the country you should be on the list.
13 years ago at 3:43 pm^ Agree to completely disagree.
13 years ago at 3:59 pmWhich part the list or the following.
13 years ago at 4:25 pmIndiana Tailgating > all other Big Ten tailgates. The same cannot be said for their athletics.
13 years ago at 4:49 pm^ Second, golden fleece. If IU’s football team was better the crowds would be enormous. Still, the Greek section is a great time. Much better than any other B1G school I’ve been to for a tailgate (UM, MSU, PSU, Minn, PUR, ILL)
13 years ago at 5:24 pm^^This guy knows what a real tailgate is. IU tailgating is absurdly outrageous.
13 years ago at 7:50 pmGentlemen, make the trip to Iowa City. The tailgates are fucking wild and we don’t get our asses kicked.
13 years ago at 10:00 ambeing from the South and going to school in Ohio I will say this, Ohio State may have a bigger tailgate than most of this schools (because you don’t see more than half of it like the old school buses and land yachts out in the baseball field parking lot) but it certainly is not better than any of the schools listed… not by a long shot just off the top of my head I know the WVU, Bama, UGA, Indiana(ha!), UVA are all better by a long shot. I’m going quality over quantity in my rankings and I’d say of the top 10 list would have to be 1.Clemson 2.ND 3.Texas 4.PSU 5.UT I’ve been to all of those and had a blast, hoping to get to Ole Miss and LSU here soon.
13 years ago at 12:03 pm*these schools
13 years ago at 12:07 pmLSU not being number one is a disgrace.
13 years ago at 3:12 pmGEAUX Tigers.
13 years ago at 3:19 pmNah… I’m pretty sure Ole Miss has you.
13 years ago at 3:22 pmLSU doesn’t rage all that hard. They couldn’t keep up with us. Sorry bout it
13 years ago at 4:09 pmYou’re only saying that because you know the slams there are smarter than you are.
13 years ago at 5:02 pmLSU is fucking awesome. However, Ole Miss just has class and debauchery mixed perfectly.
13 years ago at 5:04 pmOle Piss doesnt have shit. They have to pack everyone into a small area to make it look like they bring it. Been there, and it is good, but not better. Try covering an entire campus then come back and talk. But hey, Ole Piss isn’t winning anything on the field so have fun with this consolation prize, only thing you will win this year.
13 years ago at 6:16 pmExactly. LSU’s campus is packed two days before they play. amazed we’re second.
13 years ago at 11:56 pm^ LSU is the shit! Which other state does the police help shutting the road and kicks it down with the students to celebrate victory?! NONE! Geaux tigers!!!
13 years ago at 7:21 pmVanderbilt!
13 years ago at 3:13 pmDamn straight. Now get me a sandwich.
13 years ago at 3:16 pmThat a joke?
13 years ago at 3:16 pmever been? our football’s not great, but our tailgates are.
13 years ago at 3:17 pmstory of the WAC
13 years ago at 3:21 pmDidn’t they just shut it down?
13 years ago at 3:33 pm^I don’t know about that, but I have tailgated at Vandy and I agree, it is pretty good.
13 years ago at 4:42 pmI tailgated at vandy last year and I saw maybe 5 vandy fans tailgating. I saw more with backpacks heading to the library than ones with a beer in their hand.
13 years ago at 6:18 pmThey don’t really tailgate though, they just have day parties.
13 years ago at 7:16 pmVanderbilt is terrible for tailgating. There is literally nowhere to shit. Finding a porta-potty is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. And the Grove doesn’t allow anything not in a cup. Bullshit.
13 years ago at 10:24 pmVanderbilt’s tailgates are like its football team…last in the SEC
13 years ago at 12:16 amI heard New Mexico St. and Middle Tennessee have excellent tailgating scenes as well. This list is shit without those!
13 years ago at 3:16 pmhaha eighty thousand people show up for the tail gate but less than twenty seven thousand watch a NMSU Game. I go there so i see it happen every home game haha. Tail gating is insane though
13 years ago at 3:20 pm^ Didn’t get it.
13 years ago at 4:07 pm^^Thanks for letting us know what shit school you go to.
13 years ago at 4:34 pmWell, fuck.
13 years ago at 6:12 pmI understood the sarcasim, I was just pointed out that we do indeed have a good tailgate
13 years ago at 10:53 ampointing*
13 years ago at 10:53 amNo ‘Bama? No Florida? No South Carolina? No Auburn? This list blows.
13 years ago at 3:16 pmThere is tailgating outside the SEC, you blowhard.
13 years ago at 3:26 pmYes, but it still blows in comparison to anywhere in the SEC and fuck clemson
13 years ago at 3:33 pmYou’re a very angry person.
13 years ago at 3:44 pmClemson tailgating is hands down better than South Carolina. I don’t know about you, but I prefer not to tailgate in cement lots and in parking lots of run down stores.
13 years ago at 7:19 pmClemson tailgating is pretty good, but the author only picked schools outside of the SEC to give the list some balance. Nobody wants to read about 10 SEC schools that do the same thing.
13 years ago at 3:33 pmClemson better than SC? haha what a joke. I have been to both schools and Clemson is a shithole, unless you like to tailgate at a old rundown house. At least fraternities at SC set up a big as tent and have hot girls at their tailgates. That being said, WAR DAMN!
13 years ago at 4:01 pm^wtf ru talking about obviously ur bottom tier if ur not tailgaiting with hot girls at Clemson
13 years ago at 9:44 pmOklahoma State and Kansas State need to be on here.
13 years ago at 3:17 pmIt’s a top 10, not a top 50.
13 years ago at 3:25 pmDon’t knock it till you try it!
13 years ago at 3:34 pmDon’t know about KSU but OSU definitely should be. Went to Austin couple weeks back and it was pretty awful.
13 years ago at 3:35 pmKSU is a fucking joke, and so is your fan base. Your stadium holds what, 5500 people? Ive tailgated at 7 of the big 10 and the fact that UT is over Tech, OSU, and OU is dumbfounding. UT tailgating consists of drinking at the frat house, then walking to the game. “Rodge” clearly has no clue what hes talking about.
13 years ago at 4:38 pmOSU definitely goes hard, and KSU is just really fun. Not quite the debauchery of any SEC school, but K-State can hold its own.
13 years ago at 6:11 pmDamn, someone sounds a little bitter. If you took the trip up to Manhattan and wound up hanging out with the Ag school geeds that’s not our fault. Either way K-State & Okie State both have a pretty awesome tailgate experience. Also, if KU has a decent team the tailgate scene with them is pretty legit… granted that only applies to 2007 & 2008.
13 years ago at 6:12 pmBitter? No. Opinionated? Always.
13 years ago at 10:32 pmNo amount of tailgating can make up for how much Manhattan blows
13 years ago at 8:40 amive only been to an SEC tailgate once (fayetteville) unfortunately but can say for sure that OSU is the best in the big 12, this coming from a sooner alum
13 years ago at 10:35 amThank you for this.
13 years ago at 3:19 pmJust read an article on the 10 worst tailgates – Wisconsin and Notre Dame were on that list as well – failure.
13 years ago at 3:21 pm