Okay I may be leaving Columbia, MO, but the new tailgate concert series news today has me all kinds of excited!! If you don't know what I'm talking about read the article Mizzou released today here! - Basically, after Tiger Walk, two and a half hours before the game, there will be a concert held on the east side of Faurot Field. The concerts are free to the public and will be an hour long so fans have plenty of time to get in the stadium and watch all the pre-game. When I first saw it I was kind of expecting there to be no name performers.. I was wrong. And now I suddenly have an even stronger desire to return home for some football games.. The lineup is all across the board in terms of genres, and there are some I've never heard of. However, David Nail and Josh Abbott Band are going to be there! (I'm a big Josh Abbott Band fan, as you can tell from my last Roadtrip Playlist, & they are playing the Florida game so yeah, I need to come back..) Gin Blossoms and Lauren Jenkins are also in the lineup, plus a few others. For the first time doing something like this concert series, having a variety is probably the best idea, see what works. I'm writing a blog post about this because I think it is genius! Not only as a fan am I excited about this, but as a person going into the sports industry, this seems like a great idea! People love live events, maybe the concert will draw them to the football game or the football game will draw them to the concert. Either way, I think the crowds will be large and this unique experience is something people will be looking forward to. As a Mizzou alum, I can tell you that tailgating is no joke here in CoMo. I know a lot of schools have incredible tailgates and I'm not saying ours is better or worse, but this new aspect is something that I think will go over really well. People start claiming their parking spots before the end of the work day on Friday and are at their tailgate sometimes as early as 7am.. not kidding. You combine live music with that? Um touchdown! (Yeah I used a cheesy football reference, judge me) The concerts lasting an hour from the end of Tiger Walk is a perfect amount of time because between Tiger Walk and Kickoff there is always the dilemma of "when do we go in?" and "should we even go to Tiger Walk or just stay at the tailgate?" - Not to mention, you can't drink in the stadium so many people (especially students) don't want to get inside 2 hours before kickoff, they want to stay out. Why not head to the concert with a few drinks and head inside Faurot once they're gone? I think this is another way for Mizzou to showcase their game days and what the campus has to offer to potential students too. We're in the SEC now and football is obviously a huge deal, but the more unique you can make the game day experience, the more Mizzou will appeal to those potential students. Sorry for any of you sports skeptics, but there is no denying that sports play a large role in drawing new students to schools. If you don't believe me look at enrollment numbers after a university has won a national championship in football, basketball, or baseball. Coastal Carolina (Baseball College World Series) and Florida Gulf Coast (March Madness run) are examples of jumps in enrollment. At a time when the University of Missouri's budget and enrollment are down far past a comfortable number, these are the kinds of things that are not only going to help Mizzou Athletics, but it has the potential to help enrollment, revenue generation for the school and city, and game day attendance in general. Even if money and enrollment weren't an issue, the Tailgate Concert Series would be an exciting announcement. At a time when Mizzou needs to attract new students and raise revenue, I think it's even more exciting! What are y'alls thoughts on this? Does your school offer any kind of concert pregame? What type of genres or artists would you like to see if you school did this?
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