UMD’s on-campus tailgate is moving to the football practice fields
This could potentially displace the marching band, dance team, and cheerleaders who hold their game-day rehearsals there
A proposal to move the University of Maryland’s on-campus tailgate, hosted by the Interfraternity Council, from behind Ludwig Field to the football practice fields was passed on Tuesday and is set to go into place this coming fall. Since the announcement, questions have been raised about how the move will affect UMD’s marching band, dance team, and cheerleaders, who typically hold game-day rehearsals on the football practice fields.
The relocation of the IFC tailgate was proposed by the athletic department and was prompted by Maryland football coach DJ Durkin expressing his desire to move the tailgate closer to the stadium, said John Zacker, Assistant Vice President for student affairs. Last Tuesday, the Board of Presidents, a group of presidents from different fraternities, unanimously voted to pass the idea.
Hosting the tailgate closer to the stadium is a move that some hope will increase student attendance at the games and foster Terp Pride.
“We want to create this sense of identity around Maryland. This is a big thing, we’ve got a new coach and it’s exciting, and we want to be able to match that,” said Christine Licata, IFC’s programming and advising coordinator within the Department of Fraternity and Sorority Life, in an article for the Diamondback.
After meeting with the athletic department to determine the logistics of the relocation, Zacker “athletics saw no barriers that we couldn’t work with.”
However, since the announcement of the move, members of Maryland’s marching band, dance team, and cheerleaders have expressed concern about how they will be affected, as they currently use the practice fields for game-day rehearsals.
The Tab reached out to the director of the marching band to see if he was made aware of this proposal before the Board voted to pass it, and to see how the decision would impact the band. We received the following response from a Maryland Athletics representative:
“We are currently working in collaboration with our university partners and will have a plan in place for the start of our 2016 football season.”
What this plan entails, exactly, is yet to be determined.