Beginning this 2002 season, when the football game starts, tailgating has to stop.
Under a new policy announced by the University in August, tailgate parties will be permitted before and after games in Notre Dame Stadium but not during. The University said the change was made in response to the growing incidence of alcohol-related problems, including public intoxication, drinking games, gambling, fighting and vandalism.
Phillip A. Johnson, assistant director of Security/Police, acknowledged that tailgating is a great tradition on campus, a time for reunions of family, friends and alumni. "Increasingly in recent years, however, some people have used football Saturdays as simply an excuse to stage all-day drinking parties in the University’s parking lots, virtually oblivious to the games and to the best interests of the great majority of our fans and guests.
“It is this behavior that we intend to address with the new policy, and we will use discretion in its enforcement,” he said.
People who come to campus on game days without tickets can often purchase returned tickets at the stadium ticket windows. Another option is to watch the game on television at any of several locations on campus open to the public.