WE’RE GOING ON AN SEC ROAD TRIP! A Griffiths Guide to the Southeastern Conference

PIT STOP #1: U OF ARKANSAS FAYETTEVILLE, AR – RAZORBACKS  Population: 73,580  Students: 23,153  MU Alumni in state: 1,830  Travel time: 309 miles (5 hours, 22 minutes)  What NOT to wear: cardinal red  Fun facts: School mascot was originally the Cardinal School yell is the Hog Call (“woo, pig, sooie”) Names of all graduating seniors are carved into the campus sidewalks Central Quad has a “Hi Mom!” webcam

PIT STOP #2: TEXAS A&M COLLEGE STATION, TX – AGGIES  Population: 93,857  Students: 50,054  MU Alumni in state: 9,533  Travel time: 781 miles (13 hours, 21 minutes)  What NOT to wear: maroon and white  Fun facts: “Howdy!” is the official university greeting Reveille the Collie is the official school mascot – if she barks while in class, that professor must dismiss class Century Tree is site of many proposals

PIT STOP #3: LOUISIANA STATE BATON ROUGE, LA – TIGERS  Population: 229,493  Students: 28,810  MU Alumni in state: 772  Travel time: 774 miles (12 hours, 22 minutes)  What NOT to wear: purple and gold  Fun facts: Football stadium is known as Death Valley LSU has a live tiger on campus in a state-of-the art tiger habitat Mike the Tiger is driven around the stadium on game day with cheerleaders sitting on top of his cage

PIT STOP #4: MISSISSIPPI STATE STARKVILLE, MS – BULLDOGS  Population: 23,888  Students: 21,424  MU Alumni in state: 545  Travel time: 576 miles (9 hours, 23 minutes)  What NOT to wear: maroon and white  Fun facts: Tradition to ring cowbells during football games On-campus cheese store supports the dairy plant The university meal plan is also honored at many downtown restaurants

PIT STOP #4: U OF MISSISSIPPI OXFORD, MS – REBELS  Population: 18,916  Students: 16,586  MU Alumni in state: 545  Travel time: 477 miles (7 hours, 44 minutes)  What NOT to wear: cardinal red and navy blue  Fun facts: Before each home football game, the team and coach walk through the Grove and pass tailgating fans to the stadium (Walk of Champions) The Inn at Ole Miss is the only full-service hotel in Oxford

PIT STOP #5: U OF ALABAMA TUSCALOOSA, AL – CRIMSON TIDE  Population: 90,468  Students: 31,747  MU Alumni in state: 1,015  Travel time: 625 miles (10 hours, 32 minutes)  What NOT to wear: crimson and white  Fun facts: 2012 BCS Champions The Crimson Tide nickname originated from a muddy football game The Million Dollar Band is the largest performing organization on campus and earned its name during football’s low point, when an opposing coach said the “football team isn’t worth a nickel, but you have a million dollar band”

PIT STOP #6: AUBURN UNIVERSITY AUBURN, AL – TIGERS  Population: 53,380  Students: 25,078  MU Alumni in state: 1,015  Travel time: 739 miles (12 hours, 35 minutes)  What NOT to wear: burnt orange and navy blue  Fun facts: Hey Day – all students wear nametags and say “hey” to everyone they pass After any game day victory, students and citizens decorate the town center with toilet paper

PIT STOP #7: U OF FLORIDA GAINESVILLE, FL – GATORS  Population: 124,354  Students: 51,474  MU Alumni in state: 5,753  Travel time: 1,010 miles (17 hours, 11 minutes)  What NOT to wear: orange and blue  Fun facts: Ranked 6 th by Princeton Review for “Lots of Beer” UF researcher Dr. Cade invented Gatorade in the 1960s and the university still receives royalties Gator chomp at games is performed to the Jaws theme

PIT STOP #8: U OF GEORGIA ATHENS, GA – BULLDOGS  Population: 115,452  4Students: 35,520  MU Alumni in state: 2,684  Travel time: 736 miles (12 hours, 44 minutes)  What NOT to wear: red and black  Fun facts: The G Book is the official traditions handbook Following a Bulldog victory, freshmen used to be forced to ring the chapel bell until midnight (now, fans get to do it) After football, women’s gymnastics is the second most popular sporting event

PIT STOP #9: U OF SOUTH CAROLINA COLUMBIA, SC– GAMECOCKS  Population: 129,272  4Students: 28,481  MU Alumni in state: 934  Travel time: 875 miles (14 hours, 47 minutes)  What NOT to wear: garnet (red) and black  Fun facts: Has the largest on-campus Starbucks of any U.S. college campus Chicken finger Wednesdays Cockaboose Railroad – stationary cabooses for serious tailgaters, complete with running water, air conditioning, cable TV and a living room

PIT STOP #10: U OF TENNESSEE KNOXVILLE, TN – VOLUNTEERS  Population: 178,874  4Students: 27,523  MU Alumni in state: 2,230  Travel time: 612 miles (10 hours, 20 minutes)  What NOT to wear: orange and white  Fun facts: The Rock is a 98-ton rock that students decorate with spray paint for upcoming events Church Row Smokey (school’s blue tick hound) suffered heat exhaustion on game day and was listed on the team injury report

PIT STOP #11: VANDERBILT NASHVILLE, TN – COMMODORES  Population: 601,222  4Students: 12,093  MU Alumni in state: 2,230  Travel time: 435 miles (7 hours, 26 minutes)  What NOT to wear: black and gold (!!)  Fun facts: Only private university in the SEC Freshmen Walk – freshmen rush the football field before the first home game The school hosts an annual drag show to celebrate diversity

PIT STOP #12: U OF KENTUCKY LEXINGTON, KY – WILDCATS  Population: 295,803  4Students: 26,054  MU Alumni in state: 1,157  Travel time: 464 miles (7 hours, 48 minutes)  What NOT to wear: blue and white  Fun facts: Students can use their meal points to eat at McDonalds on campus University has their own version of Dance Marathon, DanceBlue Wildcat basketball is the winningest in the history of college basketball

THE JOURNEY BEGINS ON SEPTEMBER 8 TH Go Tigers!