On Thursday, August 29 at 7 p.m., Southern Utah University’s football team played at the University of Utah Rice-Eccles Stadium against the Utes. While many students couldn’t travel to Salt Lake City to watch the game, SUU’s Student Involvement and Leadership team hosted a tailgate at 5 p.m. and a watch party at 7 p.m. at Eccles Coliseum, where T-Birds could cheer on their team from their home field.
Before kickoff, students tailgated with hotdogs and hamburgers, grilled by members of the student programming board. Clubs like SUU’s Native American Student Association, who will be hosting tailgates throughout the season, tabled at the event.
Down on the football field, STIL set up games like spikeball and foursquare for students to play as they waited for the game to start.
“It’s so fun to experience everything that college has to offer,” said Maryn Greathouse, a student who attended this event with friends. “As a broke person, I personally love the free food.”
The game itself was live streamed on the North scoreboard. Students congregated on the field with blankets to watch their team play.
“We wanted to do a watch party where people who couldn’t go to the University of Utah could still experience the game and get that same football experience,” said Austin Mize, a member of SUU’s student spirit board.
Mize mentioned that the goal of events like this one is to cultivate a space for students to find community and exercise their school pride.
“It can get really lonely at SUU and the best way to make friends and get out of your comfort zone is to come to events like this,” Mize stated. “If you are willing to put in just that little ounce of energy, you’re gonna get it back tenfold.”
Throughout the semester, STIL will be hosting many more tailgates and other campus events. To stay updated on campus events, check on the suustudentlife instagram page, as well as SUU’s official event calendar. More information on upcoming games can be found on the athletics webpage.
Author: Heather Turner
Photos: Heather Turner and Maryn Greathouse
life@suunews.net
