Two Decades of Honoring State’s Agriculture: Colorado State University to Celebrate 20th Ag Day with Food, Football Sept. 8

Colorado State University’s Ag Day bills itself as "a growing tradition," and it will reach the age of 20 with the 2001 celebration planned for Sept. 8.

Food, displays, music, a live radio broadcast and a football game will mark Ag Day 2001, a celebration of the state’s long and bountiful agricultural tradition and Colorado State University’s support for the industry.

Festivities will be held in the parking area south of Hughes Stadium on Overland Trail between Drake Road and Prospect Street in Fort Collins.

The Colorado State University Rams will take on the University of Nevada at Reno. The game will be televised on ESPN. Food service will extend from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Music and beverage sales will continue until 2:30 p.m.

Commentary, interviews and music will be broadcast live this year by Clear Channel Radio of Northern Colorado. "The BEAR" (107.9 FM) will broadcast on location from the Ag Day site south of Hughes Stadium, and KISS (96.1 FM) will present one in its series of Tailgate Concert Series from 1-2:30 p.m. on the stadium’s east side. The Rams-Reno game will air on KIIX Sports Radio, AM 1410.

Nearly half of Colorado’s 66-plus million acres are devoted to ranches and farmland, and the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s most recent figures show agriculture contributed roughly $4.4 billion to the state economy. Ag Day 2001, presented jointly by Colorado agricultural organizations and Colorado State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, honors those accomplishments.

The Ag Day barbecue will offer apples, beans, beef, beer, cheese, ice cream, lamb, melons, milk, pork, potatoes, soft drinks, sugar, sweet corn and wheat bread. Attendees can pick up a greenhouse-grown Colorado plant after their meals.

Tickets are sold in advance of the Sept. 8 event and cost $10 per person for the Ag Day barbecue or $25 per person for the barbecue and football game. Tickets may be picked up in Room 127 Shepardson Building or at the Ag Day Will-Call Tent south of Hughes Stadium on Sept. 8. (A separate, $5 parking fee is payable at the lot only.)

For credit-card phone orders, call (970) 491-2246. Checks should be made payable to CSU Ag Day 2001. Football tickets may be purchased separately from the Athletic Ticket Office at the regular price by calling (970) 491-RAMS.