Today@Sam Article

Tailgating Scheduled For Championship In Frisco

Dec. 22, 2011
SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer Gauntt

Sam Houston State University and Pizza Hut Park will help fans gear up for the NCAA Division I Football Championship game on Jan. 7 with a number of tailgating festivities beginning at 9 a.m.

The official tailgating area will feature a number of corporate-sponsored activities and hospitality tents for both SHSU and North Dakota State, located at the park’s “Tailgate Town,” adjacent to the park in the gold parking lot.

The official tailgating events will be held until noon.

Individual tailgating can be done in the general parking location at the rate of $10 per parking space or $40 for RV parking spaces, according to Brandon Cooper, Student Activities associate director. Individuals may begin setting up for tailgating at 8 a.m.

Tailgate Town activities will kick off at 9 a.m. with a youth skills clinic and autograph session featuring Football Championship Series stars and National Football League players.

At 9:30 a.m., teams will arrive and there will be a walk to the stadium, followed by team pep rallies at 10:15 a.m., which will feature the Bearkat Marching Band, cheerleaders and Orange Pride dance team, as well as Sammy Bearkat. University President Dana Gibson will also speak during the event.

At 11 a.m., attendees can listen to some of Frisco’s best young musicians cover rock classics for the “School of Rock,” before heading into the stadium for team intros, the National Anthem and a military flyover.

SHSU’s hospitality tent, a 40-by-120-foot circus-type tent, will provide a place for Bearkat football fans to rally. Free food will be provided for the first 1,500 football fans.

A limited supply of free orange rally towels and pom poms will also be distributed under the SHSU hospitality tent. Noise makers may not be distributed by any entity at tailgate.

“This is such an amazing time for SHSU and our athletics program,” Cooper said. “To help them celebrate, and as is custom, we will have a great tailgating section in Frisco that is put on in grand fashion by NCAA and the Pizza Hut Park facility.

“We are just excited in any way to help promote and raise spirit for this championship,” he said.
Among the free Tailgate Town attractions are the “Capital One Cup Fan Zone,” where fans can watch videos, see the Capital One Cup trophy, and play a games and trivia for prizes; and the “AT&T Fan Zone,” where fans can participate in the NCAA football skills or mechanical bull and roping challenges, learn about the history of the NCAA Division I football championship, have their faces decorated, take home photo souvenirs and eat.

For more information on tailgating or other Pizza Hut Park policies, visit
http://pizzahutpark.com/Home/GuestServices/PoliciesAZ/tabid/80/Default.aspx.

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