Clemson is known for its tailgating atmosphere, admits Will Quick, former student body president.
Fans pile into the small college town, that starkly contrasts Raleigh, each Saturday home game, adding to the roughly 12,000 residents and fostering the local businesses.
But Quick said a similarity Clemson and N.C. State share is a reputation for a vibrant football culture that has felt the need to foster a more positive environment surrounding their tailgating lots.
NCSU used Clemson’s program, called Solid Orange, along with several other schools’ programs, as a model when creating the Wolfpack In The House program. WITH aims to make the atmosphere at football games more friendly, both for NCSU fans and opposing fans, according to Student Body President Bobby Mills.
And as Clemson’s football team — along with hundreds of visiting fans — come to Raleigh, the University is ready to show off its new program.
“We’ve seen a lot of things being slowly implemented,” Quick said. “Things have been a little calmer and parking has gone smoother. Things like that go a long way and it seems people have been behaving a little more.”
He said the key to Clemson’s success through the Solid Orange campaign is the formation of partnerships around the community.
“They send out messages throughout the community,” Quick said. “Clemson is different because it’s really a college town — football is the town’s business for the weekend. So they’ll send people out all over town to interact with people.”
Through this interaction come corporate sponsorships and participation — an element Quick says is missing from WITH.
“The biggest thing is getting more communication between the WITH program and the community,” he said. “For people to start buying into it, you need more people behind it.”
Solid Orange also extends to sports other than football. The school uses the program to get increased attendance, and more orange, at non-revenue sports once per season.
According to Mills, NCSU also used programs from Ohio State and Texas.
Changes to tailgating came as a result of the tailgating task force, which made the recommendations, as well as a one-hour raise in hours.
“We all met and gave ideas of how to improve the atmosphere,” Morgan Stewart, the assistant director of marketing, said.
Central Florida had a program that Stewart and others liked, she said. Its program, called the Good Sport Ambassador Program, had an online training course and a “good-sport citations.”
Another key to strengthening the WITH program is alumni ties, Quick said.
“You can’t just have a student thing, you need alumni,” he said. “[Clemson] has had time to make those connections.”