JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri football fans looking to kick off the season with a celebration are welcome at the annual Cole County Mizzou Tailgate Party that will take place Thursday.
The tailgate is hosted by the Cole County Chapter of the Mizzou Alumni Association to raise money for the chapter’s scholarship fund. Missouri football fans and MU alumni are invited to Memorial Park from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to take part in the celebration.
Special guests like Truman the Tiger and the Golden Girls will take part in the tailgate to help fans get excited about the upcoming football season.
Tickets to the event are $20 each for adults, $10 each for kids ages four to 10 and free for kids three and under. A ticket to the event will include a meal from Bandana’s Bar-B-Q, dessert and unlimited beverages. Those interested in attending can buy tickets online or once they arrive at the park. All proceeds from the tailgate go to funding scholarships for Cole County high school seniors heading to Mizzou.
In addition to ticket sales, Julie Gates, the Cole County Mizzou Alumni Association Chapter president, said there will be other fundraising opportunities for people to participate in.
“We also have a silent auction we’ll be doing throughout the evening with really awesome Mizzou paraphernalia, lots of black and gold for people to bid on,” Gates said.
Gates said the tailgate is one of the events the Cole County Chapter of the Mizzou Alumni Association holds every year. She said her chapter receives some benefits for playing an active role in the MU community.
“We get one scholarship from the University Mizzou Alumni Association on campus for being a chapter that is engaged,” Gates said. “Because we do lots of activities throughout the year, that helps us to get a scholarship from them in order to give out to a student in need.”
Last year, the Cole County Chapter gave out four scholarships to students headed to MU, but it typically has about 50 to 100 applicants each year. Gates said that there are certain qualities the chapter looks for in students when awarding scholarships.
“We look for individuals who will really go to Mizzou and make our chapter proud,” Gates said. “We’re really looking for that Mizzou spirit. And so we have some amazing scholars on campus right now of students that we funded over the last four years.”
Gates herself is an MU alumna who has been involved in the Cole County Chapter of the Mizzou Alumni Association since the early 2000s. As someone with a connection to the university, she said that she’s looking forward to participating in the tailgate.
“I just love to be at the event and just see people as excited as I am, not only about football season, but just about what Mizzou and the university stands for,” Gates said. “Just being there and seeing our young kids run around and the energy that Truman the Tiger brings to any event. I mean, old or young, who doesn’t smile when they see Truman?”
Gates said her chapter didn’t hold the tailgate last year due to the pandemic. This year, she said she expects around 350 people to attend, so COVID precautions will be put in place.
“We’re going to spread some tables out, spread our auction items out, just in an effort to keep people safe but still to have that Black and Gold enthusiasm," she said.
Gates said she loves playing a role in engaging Cole County’s MU alumni and fans. She said she encourages anyone who falls into these categories to come out and support the event.
“If you want to kick off football season the right way and really have true black and gold spirit, you need to be there.”
