Team Tailgate to redefine tradition

The Student Government Association's Division of Campus Life is out for blood, but only if it's black and gold.

As of this week, applications for Team Tailgate, a new school spirit-oriented initiative developed by the SGA's Division of Campus Life, are available.

"The main goal behind Team Tailgate is we really want to redefine tailgates and what it means to be a UCF Knight," Arielle Bardzell, the athletics and traditions coordinator, said. "We really want to establish tradition at UCF and really make people proud to be a UCF Knight."

Bardzell developed Team Tailgate with Chris Pombonyo, the director of campus life.

"One of the things I really wanted to revamp for the Division of Campus Life and athletics as a whole were the tailgates," Pombonyo said. "Speaking to directors from previous years, they said that the tailgates were sometimes short-staffed and could be a lot on the athletics director and the director of campus life working them, so I figured why not give students an opportunity to get involved with event planning, school spirit and building that tradition."

Students who become the members of Team Tailgate will have the opportunity to help organize and develop tailgates, pep rallies and other school spirit-oriented events.

According to SGA's website, "bleeding black and gold is an understatement for the members of Team Tailgate."

SGA Vice President Adam Brock said they have not set a cap on how many people will make up the committee since it is a brand new initiative. However, he would like to see freshmen students, especially, get involved in campus life.

Brock said when he and SGA President Matt McCann were campaigning, they knew they wanted to instill some type of tradition within UCF's tailgates, but having a cabinet of passionate students helped figure out the types of things they wanted to do.

"Some of these ideas are pure genius," Brock said. "I think this is just one tradition you can expect from our administration in the many months to come."

Pombonyo said students who join Team Tailgate will have responsibilities that include planning events, setting events up and breaking them down afterward, working with vendors and working with the sustainability specialist to implement recycling projects.

While they're both bringing their own ideas to the table, Pombonyo and Bardzell both said they're looking forward to hearing students' ideas for Team Tailgate.

"They're really going to redefine how people look at different tailgating events and how they look at what it is to be a UCF Knight," Bardzell said.

Brock is also looking forward to a fresh perspective on school spirit.

"We have so many other people who we rely on for tailgates, and now we're creating this separate brand of students that really goes ahead and delves into the life of what it takes to really create a tailgate," Brock said.

Pombonyo hopes that tailgaters who create their own setup at Memory Mall will still visit Team Tailgate's setup for free tickets, competitions and other SGA goodies.

"We really want a strong, dedicated group of people who bleed black and gold," Bardzell said. "I really feel like they're going to give a whole new atmosphere to tailgates and tradition here at UCF."

Team Tailgate applications, which can be downloaded from SGA's website, are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, July 22.