UTSA Alumni Association hosts tailgate parties at football home games

UTSA Alumni Tailgate Parties -- helping build tradition
10 a.m. -- Food and beverages served
10-10:30 a.m. -- Special appearances by Rowdy, UTSA Marching Band and Cheer Team
10:30 am -- Spirit Walk
1 p.m. -- Kickoff

(Sept. 4, 2012) -- UTSA Alumni Association members just got thrown a pass: Free admission to all home game tailgate parties. Touchdown! Score! This year, the UTSA community and Roadrunner fans also will notice a new and bigger location for tailgating -- closer to all the action at Sunset Station, AKA Roadrunner Station during UTSA football games.

>> Admission is free for children under 12 and $10 for guests/non-members. Alumni Association members are asked to bring their membership cards to receive their free admission.

"What's different this year from last year is we now have our own space at Sunset Station, 200 yards from the Alamodome," said Jim Mickey '78, UTSA associate vice president for alumni programs and marketing, whose team has been busy planning the biggest and best tailgate parties of the season.

The Alumni Association will provide a family-friendly place that will serve as the main tailgate location for UTSA alums and Roadrunner fans to gather before the game that will be at the center of all the action including the high-energy Spirit Walk, which features a lively procession of UTSA's marching band, football players, cheerleaders and Rowdy.

"Tailgating before the game is so much a part of the football tradition that we want to continue building here at UTSA," Mickey said. "We want to invite the entire UTSA community and the general public to join us, to be part of the fun and excitement of game day by bringing your family and friends to our tailgate. Join us in building the biggest and best tailgate at every home game."

Alumni Tailgates will take place during all home games from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Hoefgen Avenue in parking lot 2, between Roadrunner Station and the Alamodome -- look for the alumni tents and flags.

"We'll have plenty of shade with over 15 tents, swamp coolers, cold beer and water, giveaways and great food," Mickey said. The tailgate menu Sept. 8 will feature Kiolbassa sausage wraps, chicken and beef fajitas, chips and salsa, and microbrewery beers.

Membership in the Alumni Association will get you free admission to all six home-game Alumni Tailgate parties beginning with UTSA's football season opener Sept. 8. The tailgate parties alone are worth $60 and annual membership to the association is only $40. "Our alumni tailgate is a great value when you consider all you're getting and what you would be paying inside the Alamodome on concessions alone," Mickey said.

Need something to wear on game day? Membership in the Alumni Association also gets you a 10 percent discount on all UTSA merchandise purchased from the online store at shoputsa.com and the UT Co-Op store in The Quarry Market. Each year, a portion of merchandise sales benefits student scholarships. In fact, the UT Co-Op recently donated $32,000 in scholarship monies for fiscal year 2013.

Sponsors of UTSA's Alumni Tailgate are Frost Bank, Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Freetail Brewing Co., Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling, and Willie's Grill and Ice House.

>> To become a member, visit the UTSA Alumni Association website.