Home football games and tailgating at Bearfest Village are fall traditions for our students, faculty and staff. This year, our first home football game is in the evening Sept. 6 (this Thursday) against the Lincoln University Blue Tigers.

Kickoff is at 6:05 p.m., and tailgating will start as early as 3 p.m. You can get in the football spirit before Thursday night at the fifth annual Rally in the Valley at 6 p.m. tonight in Plaster Stadium.

Minimizing disruptions

We recognize Thursday night games present disruptions on campus. This will be our only weeknight home football game this year. We have taken a number of steps to minimize disruptions. These steps include:

• Subject to supervisory approval, all faculty and staff will be released from work at 4 p.m. on Sept. 6. Staff scheduled to work from 4 – 5 p.m. will be paid for that hour even though they will be released from work. Talk to your supervisor if you have not yet been told whether you will be released at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
• All parking lots will be open all day Sept. 6 with only two exceptions — Lot 4 and part of Lot 22 will be closed starting at 1 p.m.

Join the festivities

Please make time to join the festivities on Thursday. A variety of campus groups will have tents at Bearfest Village, including Staff Senate, Traditions Council, International Programs and more.

For our students, we will be giving away 500 free t-shirts and free Chick-fil-A on “the Cliff” (the outdoor terrace on the east side of the stadium) on a first-come, first-serve basis.

For our faculty and staff, game and season tickets are half price. You can buy your tickets at any box office (the JQH Arena and Plaster Stadium box offices will open at 10 a.m. on game day).

Check out the full schedule for football and other athletic programs on the athletic department’s new website.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!