8 Things Michiganders Do at a Tailgate That Confuse Many People From Out of State

To many Michiganders, a tailgate feels normal.

Then you bring someone from out of state.

These are the things Michiganders do at a tailgate that confuse many people from out of state.

1. Tailgating on a Golf Course

A University of Michigan (U-M) history exhibit includes a photo of fans tailgating on the U-M Golf Course in 1974.

The Alumni Association held its official homecoming tailgate on the course on Oct. 17, ahead of the Penn State game.

The course sits a short walk from Michigan Stadium, so you can head to the game on foot.

This season, Michigan Athletics’ football parking rules say you have to stay off every tee, green and bunker.

2. Tailgating at Somebody’s House

Many locals near Michigan Stadium tailgate by hosting at home, according to a 2018 MGoBlog guide.

The guide says students do most of their tailgating from the porches of older Ann Arbor houses.

It explains that open tailgate areas are generally far away, on the opposite side of the stadium.

The guide adds that several student houses had tailgate traditions that passed from one set of renters to the next.

It says the BOX house on State hung a bedsheet with a sign for that game’s opponent.

The guide says homes in the last quarter mile before the stadium sell parking on their driveways and lawns, so you can pay to park on a stranger’s grass. A 2012 Concentrate story quoted a local business owner who said everyone in the neighborhood sold parking on game day.

3. Coordinating Everything in Maize and Blue

A 2011 ESPN column wrote that tailgate lots near Michigan Stadium were lined with rows of maize-and-blue tents.

The column said even your napkins, plates, utensils and tablecloths have to fit the maize-and-blue color scheme.

The author also spotted a Tom Brady figurine, a mini statue of Bo Schembechler and inflatable bears dressed in jerseys.

A 2010 AnnArbor.com story described a couple’s RV with a wolverine mural that was a Christmas gift from their children.

4. Cheering the Team’s Arrival

A 2011 ESPN column described tailgaters setting down their plates to applaud three buses carrying the football team as they drove past.

In 2009, AnnArbor.com said the team’s buses stopped near the stadium about two hours before kickoff, and the players walked past the fans.

The story added that one crew tailgated at the start of that walk, so its guests could send the team off up close.

5. Following the Band to the Stadium

A Michigan Daily photo essay showed tailgaters in a parking lot at the Big House, as Michigan Stadium is known, gathering to watch the band enter the stadium.

You can catch the drumline’s Step Show on the steps of Revelli Hall about 90 minutes before kickoff.

Then the march starts.

The band heads out of Revelli Hall onto East Hoover Avenue for a short march to the Big House.

Crowds can follow along from behind.

A 2026 Ann Arbor With Kids guide says you can follow the band on its walk or watch from along the route without a ticket.

6. Turning a Bus Into a Tailgate

In 2013, Bloomberg described a tailgate for Ross School of Business MBAs, built around a 1985 school bus painted maize and blue at Fingerle Lumber Yard.

You'd have found a DJ and a dance floor on the roof and couches inside.

A couple profiled by AnnArbor.com in 2010 bought a former Greyhound on eBay and spent a year outfitting it, down to three flat-screen TVs.

Its license plate was MAZBLU1.

Detroit TV station WXYZ reported in 2022 that another crew's bus, bought on eBay in 2008, was full of U-M memorabilia.

The crew called it the Living Go Blue Museum.

7. Planning the Menu Around the Opponent

AnnArbor.com wrote in 2009 about one tailgate crew that gave each week a theme, and guests wore Hawaiian shirts and leis for Notre Dame.

Two tailgaters in a 2011 ESPN column picked their food around that week's opponent, serving cheese soup for Wisconsin and corned beef sandwiches for Notre Dame.

For San Diego State, they brought salsa from Southern California and planned fish tacos.

Destination Ann Arbor's 2026 guide says its author's tailgate group themes its food to the opponent, such as barbecue for Texas or crab cakes for Maryland.

8. Arriving Hours Early

Destination Ann Arbor's 2026 guide says some tailgaters get there around 7 a.m. for a noon kickoff to line up for the best spot.

An RV tailgater in ESPN's 2011 column said he usually arrived by 6:30 a.m. on game days, whatever the kickoff time.

Another group in the column showed up at 10:30 a.m. for a night game, and police told them the lot wouldn't open for two more hours.

One crew, founded more than 30 years earlier, started at 6 a.m. even for late games partly because its smoked salmon took hours, according to a 2009 AnnArbor.com story.

Tailgating in the Cold

A 1999 Michigan Daily story on Ann Arbor tailgaters described one group's canopy lined with heavy plastic walls.

Its motor home had two barn heaters, a grill and tables loaded with appetizers.

On a rainy day, the group once put straw down over the mud.

A longtime regular at the Pioneer High School lot winterized his tailgate with plastic when it got cold, AnnArbor.com reported in 2010.

The 2011 ESPN column warned that you'll probably be cold at some point on a fall Saturday in Ann Arbor.

Tailgating at Michigan State

Michigan State University (MSU) lets you tailgate in all public parking areas on campus.

A 2016 State News story said MSU tailgaters cooked food, played games such as cornhole and listened to music before the game.

This season, parking lots open at 7 a.m. for any game that kicks off before 6 p.m., and at 11 a.m. for kickoffs at 6 p.m. or later.

MSU bans trailers of any type, pig roasters included.

Couches and other upholstered furniture are out too.