Autumn camping in the Ozarks. An Arkansan pastime dating back to the earliest days of the state. Maple trees turning red, brisk morning air complimented by warm fires surrounded by people celebrating comradery and mutual interest.
However, on September 30th camping looked quite a bit different than you’d expect. Instead of primitive campsites surrounded by trees, Razorback students took to concrete sidewalks surrounded by a residence hall and a stadium. Instead of campfires drawing people around, it was endless boxes of cheap pizza. One aspect did remain the same as normal camping though, the campers’ mutual interest in the moment. In this case, that moment was Razorback football.
A rainbow array of every sized tent lined Stadium Drive for as far as the eye could see. Masses of students filtered in and out as fresh teams of friends relieved their buddies to take over shifts waiting in line.
“There were 156 tents registered and I think that resulted in a little more than 1100 students being in the front of the line,” said Mary Skinner, Director of Student Activities.
Students not participating in the stadium side shenanigans, chatting, or playing cornhole, were either doing homework on their computers or reading from textbooks.
What would draw such a crowd to be part of something like this? Well, the answer is entry to the student section to cheer on the Hogs as they went into battle against Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide from the University of Alabama.
“The student camping for the Razorback vs. Alabama football game allows the die-hard hog fan to be the first to enter the stadium. The student section is first-come first-serve and camping allows students to be in the first row,” Skinner said. “If there is a demand for student camping, it means the Razorbacks are doing well and that is always exciting! GO HOGS!”
One student “pulled up at 7:45” to represent his group of ten. He says that by Noon there was person after person and tent after tent. His group was excited because their early arrival guaranteed them a spot in the front row. Another of the friends chimed in about the sleeping arrangements, saying that he took apart his residence hall bed, hauled it to his campsite on Stadium Drive and put it back together. For this particular group of students, it was their first chance to experience a gameday campout since before the 2019 Covid pandemic.
While the Arkansas Razorbacks may not have come out victorious and beat Bama by 90 points like students on the sidewalk were predicting before the game, the students were able to experience a time-honored tradition that has not happened in several years.
