University of Mississippi

School: University of Mississippi

Team: Ole Miss Rebels

Location: Oxford, MS

Conference: SEC

Stadium: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (Capacity: 64,038)

If anyone has told you anything about going to Ole Miss for a football game, then you are probably familiar with one thing – “The Grove”. Situated about a mile walk from Vaught-Hemingway, The Grove is the center of football on a fall Saturday in Oxford. Your experience at a Rebel football game must begin and end here. This is, without question, the best tailgating experience in the country. Climb aboard with a hotty toddy, you won’t want to miss this one.

The Weekend

Travel: This is one of the more difficult trips to make if you aren’t within driving distance of Oxford. One of the biggest airports close by is Memphis – about 1.5hrs from Oxford. If you’re ambitious enough, you can make a day out of that before getting into town by stopping through Beale Street, but that is for another blog. I highly suggested renting a car because Oxford is pretty spread out and you may be staying a ways from campus.

Lodging: Most of these locations I’m recommending either a hotel or RV. However, Oxford does not have many hotels in or around the downtown comparatively to other college towns and this can obviously be even more difficult on a home game weekend. I suggest exploring an Airbnb for this trip. Find yourself a willing homeowner – and during the fall there are many – and grab a house a few miles from town. If you’re not from Mississippi, it’s fun to see the back woods of what the state is all about and you can still get into town pretty easily.

Local Food: Let’s keep things simple here. Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken is about a five minute drive from downtown Oxford and is worth a try. While it has become a bit of a chain, it originated just over an hour away in Memphis and the menu matches perfectly for what you’ll need on game day. Fried okra, fried pickles, fried green tomatoes + hot and spicy fried chicken. Make it happen!

Local Drink: In Oxford, the Library is the place to be on a football weekend. Located walking distance from campus, this is an enormous sports bar with three areas to hang out: the nightclub in the center of the bar, the outdoor patio and the sports bar. Don’t be shocked to see a Manning brother there every now and then.

The Tailgate

There’s only one way to do the tailgate at Ole Miss and that is the aforementioned quad in the center of campus, also known as The Grove. The most important part of your weekend will be getting your tailgate location reserved and set up for Saturday. I suggest you use a tailgate company because they can reserve your spot the night before, set up your tent, tables, TVs, chairs, etc. and take care of the clean up after the game. I’ve used Southern Tradition Tailgating many times and they do a terrific job.

Unique Tradition

Ole Miss is not short on traditions and make sure you find yourself a hotty toddy to enjoy them with, but the Walk of Champions is tough to beat. Two hours before game time, nearly the entire Rebel fan base in the Grove lines up beginning at the Walk of Champions archway to watch the team make their way to Vaught-Hemingway. It’s a team entrance that will rival most any you see.