Students balance tailgating with class on weekday gameday

Michael Squire

With an unusual weekday football game, some fans found it harder to commit to tailgating than usual.

Several students cited class both on game day and the following day as a reason to avoid tailgating activities.

“I have class tomorrow,” St. Louis freshman CarRon Slater said with a shrug. “I can’t expect to get drunk and go to class tomorrow. I mean, I care about my grades.”

On the other side of the spectrum, fraternities and sororities kept good attendance clumping up into crowds spread all across the Avenue of Champions from Topper Café to the Valley.

Bowling Green freshman Daniel Ruanto, a Kappa Sigma fraternity member, said he and his brothers had no problem with Tuesday tailgating.

“All the brothers in my frat went to class and headed straight to the tailgating after,” Ruanto said.

Other students, such as Bloomfield junior Kyle Parks, of Farmhouse fraternity, said he had to adjust to Tuesday tailgating.

“I had to get all my tailgating stuff ready last night, just so I had time,” Parks said.

Ruanto said he didn’t mind weekday tailgating.

“The tailgating seemed like the same,” he said. “Although, there may have been a bit more drinking because it’s an excuse to drink on a weekday.”

Weekday drinking could lead to problems, but that was not so, according to Captain Dominic Ossello, chief communication officer for the WKU Police Department.

“There are never usually any problems,” he said about tailgating. “No problems today, not that I know of, not until I see the paperwork.”

Cincinnati, Ohio freshman Kevin Waite found a way to make things work.

“I didn’t really have anyone to tailgate with because it’s Tuesday and people are busy all day,” Waite said. “Don’t get me wrong, I got drunk, I just didn’t tailgate.”