Tailgating at Ole Miss

Driving into the tiny college town of Oxford, MS, is like entering a different world. This quintessential small southern town has its white picket fence yards, porches with neighbors rocking in their chairs and waving to by passers. In the center of the town square is a white court house with plenty of shops and restaurants serving catfish. It is what you envision when you think small town Mississippi. When it comes to game day, this small town is far from what you would expect. Saturday game days at Ole Miss are a unique event, here is what to expect when tailgating in Oxford on game day.

Every aspect of The Grove, makes it a unique place to tailgate with the the food being no different. With the close proximity of tents and all tailgating happening on a 10 acre plot of grass, there is NO OPEN FLAME allowed in The Grove.

This changes the tailgating menu a bit. In The Grove, the sandwich and picnic lunch is king! This doesn’t mean boring and plain food! You will see a wide variety of southern staples and finger foods. With the dress code being that of cocktail attire, it only makes sense to eat cocktail party foods! If you are coming from out of down, don’t worry. The University has a catering department where you can call ahead order all the fruit and sandwich trays you need! On the morning of game day, they are in The Grove ready for you to pick up your order.

Here is a small sample of some of the foods you will see in The Grove on game day.

Schools in the South have a more formal “dress code” than Northern schools. Ole Miss is the extreme of this. It is rare to see shirts without colors on guys. For the girls, it is the perfect chance to break out your best sundress and cocktail attire. Here is an idea of what to expect clothing wise. For the ladies…

And for the gents…

In the Grove, your Sunday’s finest attire becomes you Saturday’s finest.

Like every SEC school, Football is a way of life. Saturdays are full of tradition, fanfare, and most importantly TAILGATING. While tailgating may occur at other locations on campus, the only place to be and be seen is; The Grove. Other schools have centralized tailgating locations, but non are like Ole Miss. The Grove at Ole Miss is one of the most unique and wonderful tailgating places in the entire country. Saturdays in the grove are more than just a tailgate, they are THE social events of the fall. Fans come from all over Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, and even as far as Texas, to spend their Saturdays in the grove. To comprehend tailgating in the Grove, you first need to understand what The Grove is.

Located in the center of campus, this approximately 10 acre green space is the place to tailgate on Saturdays. Shaded by oak, elm, and magnolia trees, this area is used as a haven by students during the middle of the week. On home game weekends this all changes. For a 24 hour period, The Grove transforms. Above are images of what The Grove looks like on Friday before a home game. At 10pm on Friday night, The Grove is open to tailgaters for 24 hours. Hundreds of fans swoop in and in a matter of hours create a tent city that looks like this…

Throughout the morning, the grove begins to fill with thousands of Rebel fans, who bring all the comforts of home with them to their tailgate.

There is no parking in the Grove. There are unloading zones where you can drop off people and tailgating fare. They are patrolled by University Police so DON’T leave your car parked and unattended in them. YOU WILL GET A TICKET or be towed. The tents in the grove create a series of roads. Tailgaters spend the afternoon going from tent to tent. With less than an inch separating neighboring tents, the entire 10 acres is one giant party. The Grove is just one of the several aspects that make it one of the most unique and famous tailgating spots in the country.

While The Grove is a non stop party the entire time you are there. 3 hours of so before kick off, you may notice fans lining up on either side of a brick path.

This looks like any other path the 359 non game days of the year, but on game day this changes. This is the Walk of Champions.

Like many schools in the south, there is a procession about 2-2 and a half hours prior to kick off where fans gather to watch their team make their way to the Stadium. Ole Miss is no different. Theirs is called the Walk of Champions.

Fans will crowd either side of this brick pathway waiting for their team to arrive.

Cheers, fist bumps, and hi fives are exchanged as the players and coaches make their way to the stadium. This all culminates in the entire crowd breaking out into the Ole Miss Cheer.

Through out the day, you will here this cheer spontaneously erupt throughout the crowd. When you hear some one yell out, “ARE YOU READY ?!?” It is immediately followed by

Hell yes! Damn Right!
Hotty Toddy, Gosh almighty
Who the hell are we, Hey!
Flim Flam, Bim Bam
OLE MISS BY DAMN!

As you can see, The Grove is one of the most unique tailgating sites in the country. With its unique tradition and unmatched beauty, it is almost in a category of its own. In the Grove, you don’t even feel like you are about to go to a football game, instead it is as if you have stepped into a different world. Like the May Fly, this tailgating paradise is only around of 24 hours at a time. By Sunday morning, the tents, tables, and people have all vanished only to return at the next home game.

If you have interest in seeing The Grove first hand, be sure to check out the Tailgating Links page for a link to the Ole Miss tailgating information, so you can be up to date on any new rules in The Grove!