Planning for College Game Day as an Alumni
For a dad who attended a university with a sports-oriented program, it is pretty common for college memories to be populated with fun times, friends, and sports! Next time you decide to turn back the hands of time, and relive some of those exciting Game Day antics with your alumni buddies, plan ahead! Start preparing with some of our top tips for your next alumni Game Day, and you can rest assured that you and your former classmates will be making memories that you’ll cherish as much as those charming colleges days in the past.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few areas essential to any major Game Day experience with friends besides the usual traditions of simply dressing in your school colors -
Coordinate – Use technology to your advantage and help coordinate amongst your college buddies. From shared calendars to other scheduling apps, get everyone on board early and open up those lines of communication so that everyone knows who might be in charge and have all the details for Game Day. After all, with all the years that might have passed since you were students, it’s completely normal for everyone to be functioning on different schedules and be out of sync.
Tailgate – Tailgating helps get the celebration started before the game begins. This gives alumni like you and your pals some time to catch up over delicious food and drinks. Remember to go in with a big appetite and stock up on everyone’s favorite drinks. After all, Game Day is almost always an eventful day that lasts much longer than the duration of the actual game. Don’t forget to get some rest the night before so that you can start tailgating early to scope out a prime spot, start grilling, and setting up your space.
Compete with friends – Whether you set up a table for poker during the tailgate event or plan some sports themed competition of your own, experiencing the thrill of competition first hand will definitely help set the tone on Game Day. Competition amongst friends is bound to get everyone bonding, which may revoke memories of how you used to mesh as a team or group of pals. Think of it as an engaging ice breaker type of activity to share with the people you might not have been able to keep up with in the last few years.
Make time for family – While gathering your friends might be your biggest priority on game day, don’t forget your loved ones while you’re at it. Take the time to introduce your college buddies to your significant other and kids. That being said, you’ll also want to make sure the kids have activities of their own to help pass the time. As a fun gesture, have a face painting station where the little ones can get your school logo or team colors painted in support.
Most importantly, remember that Game Day is all about having fun! While planning and coordinating is key, you won’t want to get too bunkered down with too many self imposed tasks that you miss out on any of the fun.
