aTm GAMEDAY INFO: hotels, restaurants/bars, etc.

This is the most excited anyone has ever been about going to College Station.

Whatever you do, don't walk on the grass.

if you plan to tailgate, bring a tent for shade. there isn't a mother fricking tree on the entire campus

You will enjoy it, A&M is a truly unique place. The folks who are comparing it to StarkVegas are downright hilarious. Starkville has a population of 22k. B/CS has a population of 220k. It's also an hour away from the 4th largest city in the US. You also CAN WALK ON THE GRASS. There is only ONE place on the campus you can't and that is the Memorial Student Center (MSC) grounds which is a memorial and is a very small area.

I can also assure you that any LSU or Arkie folks that came there the last time we played will hardly recognize it. The population and city have exploded in the last 20 years and the campus is completely transformed. I am a Class of '93 and every time I go back I am continually blown away by it. For instance 20 years ago the tailgating was almost non existent, there were about 30% of the restaurants that are there now, there was also almost nowhere to eat on and around campus on gamedays. All of that has changed.

Northgate is the best known bar area with the Dixie Chicken, Duddley's Draw, and Bottle Cap Alley. The area is very C&W/Texas in feel. The Tap is a very cool bar that has a more traditional college feel to it. Hurricane Harry's is a fun Dance bar as is the Texas Hall of Fame.

My personal favorite places to eat are Koppe Bridge which has great burgers and BBQ, J Cody's which has fantastic BBQ and possibly the best seasoned ribeye steaks I have ever eaten, Freebirds for their famous custom burritos, Layne's for their famous chicken fingers and incredible and unique dipping sauce, and DoubleDave's Pizza with their famous pepperoni rolls.

The campus itself is massive with over 5000 acres, simply driving around it takes a good while on a gameday. There is a lot to see. There is an excellent tailgating atmosphere now that simply didn't exist 20 years ago. Aggies are very friendly to outsiders and you will likely be offered beer and food quite liberally. There is also a set of local restaurants that have food booths set up right outside Kyle if you prefer. Some big features on campus include the Bush Presidential Library (that's Bush 41) which is a pretty incredible interactive museum on the edge of campus. You need a couple hours to truly see it but it is well worth it. The Memorial Student Center (MSC) is currently under renovation but will be done by next Fall. One feature that is really worthwhile to see there is all 7 Medals of Honor earned by Aggies. The Corps of Cadets Museum is also very interesting and a quick view, it also houses a pretty fantastic exotic gun collection if you like firearms. The Corps dorms themselves are pretty cool to check out 2 hours before the game as the 2k Corps members form up, they fire off the 1903 Howitzer (you can hear it half a mile away), and they all march in to the stadium behind the band. It's pretty cool to see. The Bonfire Memorial is also a very powerful monument unlike any other and worth seeing. Of course if you come in the night before don't miss Midnight Yell Practice which is held at Kyle and has 35-40k folks coming out to practice yells and listen to stories by the Yell Leaders, it's unlike anything you will ever see and really can give you an idea of what A&M is all about.

One other thing, whatever you do at the game DO NOT MISS THE AGGIE BAND. Nothing else like it.

We treat our guests at A&M generally very well in Aggieland and want you to enjoy your stay. There may be an occasional moron but Aggies try hard to police our own. Now after a few years as the rivalries build it will likely get more heated (esp with LSU) but right now anyone wearing the colors of another SEC school on the A&M campus will be treated like a long lost friend. We can't wait for SEC football!