College Tailgating 101

Football Food:

For your game day food, make sure to include all of the basics: burgers, hot dogs, chips with dip and sweet snacks. Pack all the meat and condiments in a large cooler so nothing spoils, and don’t forget to bring a grill to cook your meal on. Impress your friends with our recipe for an amazing four layer dip, which simply involves layering mashed black beans, a smoky chipotle salsa, cool guacamole and a layer of cream cheese. Make sure to pack two big bags of chips to satiate all the fans of this delicious dip.

For sweet snacks, bake a few batches of good old fashioned chocolate chip cookies the night before the game. If the game is around Halloween time, bring a big bowl filled with an assortment of Halloween candy for your friends to satisfy everyone's sweet tooth.

Ice Cold Beverages

A cooler filled with sodas, sports drinks and water bottles is requisite. If you're over 21, you will also need to supply plenty of alcoholic beverages to accompany the food. If your tailgating group is more than eight people, include:

• At least one 32 pack of beer
• Bottles of whisky, gin and vodka of your choice
• If it’s an early game, bring champagne (3 bottles) and orange juice for mimosas

Fun & Games

First and foremost, bring a football or two to toss around before the game. A good game of touch football gets everyone revved up and in the mood to watch the game.

If possible, bring a long rectangular table (at least four feet long) to play traditional college drinking games on. Also make sure to pack a few big stacks of red plastic cups to use for Flippy Cup and Beer Pong. Follow the links to get official rules on each game.