Why IU students started camping for College GameDay over 19 hours in advance – The Daily Hoosier

BLOOMINGTON – It was a simple question followed by a simple answer.

“Why would you wait outside almost a whole day for ESPN College GameDay?”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

“There is literally no place I would rather be than here right now.”

For the biggest games of each IU men's basketball season at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, students line up very early to get a good spot near the front of the student section. That's a much rarer sight in Indiana football, but with the 7-0 start, everything about this program continues to change.

IU junior Sam Foley drove past Memorial Stadium at 7:30 a.m. Friday, expecting a crowd already lined up for the GameDay pit. Nobody was there. He drove by again around 10 a.m. and there were still no fans. So he drove to the College Mall, bought some water, snacks and other supplies, drove back to the IU athletic complex around 11 a.m. and set up a folding chair on the sidewalk on E. 17th St.

Foley was the first student to line up for the first-ever Saturday College GameDay in Bloomington before IU's game against Washington. He didn't think he would be first – he just wanted to get a place in line.

“I was kind of surprised because my friends at home started making me nervous, like they told me people were staying here last night,” Foley said The Daily Hoosier. “And I thought, 'Shoot.' Maybe I have to go up (Thursday) night.' And I thought, 'I'm not going to do that.' Two nights, I can't do that. But then I came back and no one is here.”

Senior Daniel Tauberman arrived shortly after Foley. They didn't know each other, but knew they would have plenty of time to get to know each other. Fans will not be allowed into the pit area behind the GameDay set until 6:30 a.m. Saturday, with the show going live at 9 a.m

Tauberman, like Foley, was prepared. He also had a lawn chair, a portable charger, board games, food and a friend who came later that day with a sleeping bag and a soccer ball.

He also had an umbrella, which came in handy when it was raining lightly early Friday afternoon. But the weather didn't deter Tauberman.

“It means doing nothing. Been through it before. My roommate brought my umbrella. I'm used to it. I think it was at the Purdue (basketball) game a few years ago, it was like they had freezing rain and they basically just took their tarp and pulled it over themselves,” Tauberman said. “This is light rain.”

While IU could play more big football games at Memorial Stadium for the rest of the season and possibly next year and beyond, this is the only time College GameDay will be in town this year — and with a show this popular, there isn't one Guaranteed to come back soon.

This is the second time GameDay has appeared in Bloomington, but as host Rece Davis made clear in a conversation with local media on Friday, there is “an asterisk” to this show. GameDay was held in 2017 before the Thursday night season opener against Ohio State, and the show was broadcast live from Memorial Stadium for the entire duration, rather than the usual Saturday morning amid a mob scene of fans.

“I’m excited to actually be one of the Indiana fans,” Davis said. “We were at the stadium in 2017 and it was a great evening and people were excited, but it's something different to experience the whole show and the whole three hours and start the day of football – and then tomorrow, go to kick-off to the stadium. Just a different mood and a different energy when you start it early in the morning. I'm sure people will be camping out and we'll have a huge crowd and they'll be loud and excited and there's just something energizing about that. And I think it’s very different when we go to places we’ve never been before.”

The GameDay crew has numerous connections to Indiana and the football program. The most notable is Lee Corso, who coached the Hoosiers from 1973 to 1982. The show will likely be a tribute to his time in Bloomington and fans are eager to show him their love. Foley knew Corso led IU to its first-ever bowl victory — and quickly added his belief that current head coach Curt Cignetti would lead the Hoosiers to their first national championship.

This three-hour college football pregame show will be a unique opportunity for IU fans and Bloomington to showcase themselves to the country. FOX's “Big Noon Kickoff” was in town for the game against Nebraska last week, but that show didn't begin airing until 2019. GameDay, which has been on the air since 1987 and seen on college campuses since 1993, has a much larger footprint and a more prestigious status in the sport. It has grown into a college football institution.

And that's largely why Foley thought it was worth camping for over 19 hours to be the center of the experience.

“I feel like tomorrow will be a reason why the nation can understand why Bloomington needs this so badly. “I feel like Bloomington has been very stubborn about its football over the years, and pretty stubborn too on basketball because basketball didn't perform so well. But I think this is just a great thing for Bloomington. I think it’s a great thing for IU fans,” Foley said. “I grew up in Martinsville, my grandparents had season tickets to the football games, so I grew up at Memorial Stadium. So it’s just nice to see a successful team and the nation actually care about our successful team.”

For complete coverage of IU football, click HERE.

The Daily Hoosier – “Where Indiana fans gather when they’re not at the meeting.”

Related