STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University announced new tailgating zones for the 2025 football season on Thursday, with the biggest change being the rezoning of The Junction, removing public tailgating in favor of Southern Tradition Tailgating.

The rezoning also includes the introduction of an exclusive student tailgating area around the amphitheater.

The Junction, located outside the M Club building around the south endzone of Davis Wade Stadium, has traditionally been an area where the public has been free to set up tailgating tents. This season, all of The Junction will be part of the Southern Tradition Tailgating zone, which has a corporate partnership with MSU.

Southern Tradition is a premium tailgating partner for Mississippi State, Ole Miss and LSU, among other teams and sports. The vendor offers tailgating packages beginning at $3,500 per season, which includes equipment such as tents, TVs and receivers, furniture and setup labor. Packages for larger tents and additional equipment are available at a greater cost.

All public tailgating is now restricted to peripheral areas around the Cullis Depot, Lee Boulevard by the Student Media Center, the area around the Newell Grissom volleyball gym, and up Creelman Street towards Allen Hall. Student tailgating has also been sectioned off into a new zone, now restricted to the Amphitheater Bowl area.

Public tailgating areas remain available on a first-come, first-served basis, with equipment placement to hold a spot available at 5 a.m. the day before games. Tent setup is not allowed until Friday at 4 p.m.

MSU Vice President for Strategic Communications Sid Salter said in a university release that the university has been examining tailgating changes for two years, receiving a common complaint regarding safety from gameday fans, tailgaters and visitors with children.

Salter spoke with The Dispatch on Friday, echoing the concerns expressed in the release and clarifying that the decision regarding the exclusive Southern Tradition Tailgating zone was also impacted by optics of uniformity and concerns over preventing and tackling behavior that is “not conducive to a good fan experience.”

“It’s very difficult for the university, when it’s on a first-come, first-served basis, to establish the identity of a person at a tailgate tent and for that to be anything consistent,” Salter said. “Having a consistent system where there are accountable persons for behavior at the tailgate tent, and the ability through those contracts to manage that, I think absolutely increases safety.”

Salter also noted that despite rezoning, there remains the same amount of space open to public tailgating as before.

Safety became a concern after an altercation between fans during and after the MSU-Kentucky game in 2023. The incident prompted the university to alter its policing of space in The Junction, as well as the prohibition of non-MSU amplified music, large speakers and elevated speakers in tailgating areas.

Salter stressed that complaints about safety and a non-family-friendly atmosphere in The Junction were a big influence on the rezoning decision. He also stressed that the decision to allow students their own tailgating zone and agency over their own events was made after consultation with student body leaders over tailgating concerns.

“They wanted some turf where they could create the gameday environment that they want, and that’s an important step,” Salter told The Dispatch. “Moving them to the amphitheater where they can have some territoriality over their music and activities over there, that obviously allows students to program and gave us an opportunity to make sure we have sufficient law enforcement assigned to help keep order. That was a direct request from the student body to have their own space, and we feel that is a good decision as well.”

The university will continue to monitor tailgating measures and assess the changes along with further concerns that may arise throughout the season.

“We realize any time you change tailgating protocols, there are going to be concerns,” Salter added. “I’ve talked personally to a lot of people who have those concerns, we’ve done everything we could to work with them to give them an outcome that they feel good about, but our overall concern right now is for the quality of the gameday experience, the safety and convenience of our friends, fans, students and visitors.”

The MSU-sponsored Hailstate Tailgate will not be offered in 2025 due to construction around Dorman Hall and a need to keep Creelman Street open to traffic, but it may return in the future if the athletic department decides to bring it back.