Colorado State’s Ag Day Barbecue’s 25th Anniversary Celebration Kicks Off Football Season Sept. 2

Colorado State University’s annual Ag Day barbecue will celebrate its 25th year from noon-2:15 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, before the 3 p.m. kickoff of the Rams’ first 2006 home football game against the Weber State University Wildcats. This year’s Ag Day festivities come three weeks earlier than last season, so be sure to mark your calendars now and buy tickets early.

The Ag Day barbecue, a 25-year-old tradition that honors the university’s heritage, features Colorado fare such as turkey, lamb, beef, pork, beans, potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, apples, tomatoes, ice cream, cheese, wheat bread, melons, milk, pop, water and beer brewed with barley raised by Colorado farmers. The event takes place in the south parking lot at Hughes Stadium on Overland Trail between Drake and Prospect roads.

Colorado-grown flowers also will be available, and a drawing from Ag Day barbecue ticket stubs will take place for two round-trip tickets on Frontier Airlines to any destination serviced by the carrier in the continental United States, Alaska or Mexico.

In addition to the barbecue, which typically draws about 3,500 people, the event includes agricultural displays, live music and a live radio broadcast from K99 radio before concluding with the football game. Colorado State alumnus K.C. Yates and his Morning Star Band will return this year to provide entertainment. Denver Broncos’ mascot, Miles, also will be on hand.

Proceeds of the barbecue fund scholarships to students of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State. The college was able to support 18 students through scholarships during the past school year thanks to proceeds from Ag Day.

The celebration of Colorado’s agricultural heritage and the university’s roots in agriculture takes place each year at the stadium, under the university’s historic "A" on the east side of Horsetooth Reservoir. The "A," which is made of piled rocks and is white-washed each year by Colorado State students, dates to the years when the university’s nickname was Aggies.  

Ag Day is hosted by Colorado State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, Colorado State’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Colorado agricultural organizations and associations.

Tickets for the Ag Day barbeque are $15, or $35 for both a barbecue and game ticket, and are available at (970) 491-6497.

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