The Grove at Ole Miss: Tailgating Tips for College Football’s Best Gameday

Taking your first trip to The Grove at Ole Miss this season? Here are some tips for your Rebel Saturday.

Sep 11, 2021; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels fans in the Grove during pre-game before game against the Austin Peay Governors. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

At the center of the campus of the University of Mississippi lies approximately 10 acres of football holy ground that becomes a pilgrimage site for red-and-blue clad fans on fall Saturdays.

The Grove at Ole Miss has long been heralded as one of the top college football tailgating sites in America, and another season of chandeliers and tents is upon us when the Rebels open their season against Furman on Saturday. Most Ole Miss fans are familiar with what The Grove has to offer each week, but there are always first-time visitors to this "Holy Grail" of fan locations with the advent of each season.

On SEC weekends, The Grove is packed with thousands of people, most of whom will journey into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for the game. Others, however, choose to make The Grove their home on certain Saturdays, opting to watch the game on one of hundreds of televisions set up across the landscape.

The Grove opens on Friday nights for fans to begin setting up for the following day, and it closes three hours after the conclusion of the game on Saturday. Ole Miss has also leaned into the promotion of "Trash Can Friday" on campus, a day where red and blue trash cans are spread across The Grove in preparation for the tent setup that will take place later that night.

This tailgating pageantry led Ole Miss fans to coin the phrase, "We may not win every game, but we've never lost a party." If you're a new visitor to The Grove this season, here are some things you need to know for your trip to Oxford.

1. Location

The Grove address is listed as 1848 University Avenue, and it isn't hard to find. If you come west onto campus on University, you will pass the Gertrude Ford Center on your right before coming to a stop sign on the other side of a bridge. On the corner of University and Grove Loop (to your right) is the entrance to The Grove, marked by a new concrete sign that was erected in the last year or so.

Some of the academic buildings stationed along Grove Loop include Lamar Hall, Farley Hall (the home of the School of Journalism and New Media), Barnard Observatory and the student union. Ventress Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus and home to the College of Liberal Arts, is located at the southwest corner of the acreage near The Grove stage.

2. Get there early. It's an experience.

If you don't have a tailgating group in The Grove, it's key for you to catch some of the key moments that pregame has to offer.

The "Walk of Champions" is high on the list. Before each game, the Ole Miss players and coaches walk through a throng of fans toward the stadium in a tradition that began with head coach Billy Brewer in the 1980s. The brick path winding through the heart of campus is named in honor of the 1962 Ole Miss team that finished the year 10-0 and was named the national champion by multiple outlets.

The entrance to the Walk of Champions is marked by an archway in front of the student union, and it runs roughly south through The Grove across University Avenue, eventually ending at the bell tower behind the student section at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

On SEC weekends, it's hard to get a front-row spot for this spectacle (and maybe shake the hands of some team members), so if you want to be up close for the action, you've got to time it right. The walk usually begins about two hours before kickoff, so plan accordingly.

There's also a pregame performance by The Pride of the South marching band, and standing around and listening to these notes belt across the shaded ground will send chills up your spine on any fall Saturday, even if the humidity is high in true Mississippi fashion.

3. Prepare to experience a "fine dining" atmosphere inside a tent.

The food at these tailgating tents are usually pretty standard (no open flames are allowed in The Grove), but the atmosphere is pretty special. The dishes and decorations seen in some of these tents rival some homes, and a chandelier or two can also be seen inside some of these temporary structures.

A lot of the tailgating spreads are catered from one of Oxford's restaurants. Abner's chicken was a popular one before the restaurant closed, but it just depends on what each tailgating group decides for a given week. Chicken strips and finger foods are typically the norm, however, allowing for eating while standing and meandering through The Grove.

Also, if you're friendly and ask, many tailgating groups are willing to let you sample some of their food. So that's a huge plus to Mississippi being dubbed "The Hospitality State."

But the biggest takeaway from the dining scene at The Grove is the atmosphere. Televisions are everywhere to keep up with the college football action around the country, and you won't find many "throwaway" serving trays on gameday.

4. Dress Code

There's no written "dress code" for tailgating at The Grove, but once you're there, you'll realize that the majority of fans are dressed up, to an extent. Dresses, skirts, polo shirts and button downs with ties are the norm, even for the hotter games in the early portions of the schedule.

If you're a young Ole Miss fan who has never been to a game or a fan from a visiting team, you may want to break out some of your best threads for the event, but jerseys and t-shirts are also acceptable. It is a party, after all, and regardless of what team wins that day, you will have won this key aspect of the game by the time you leave Oxford.