Ag Day 2008 Kicks Off Home Football Season, Raises Money for Scholarships

The 2008 Colorado State University home football season kicks off Saturday, Sept. 6, with the 27th annual Ag Day barbecue. The pre-game feast from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Hughes Stadium includes a wide selection of Colorado-grown fare. At 1:30 p.m., the Colorado State Rams will take on the Sacramento State Hornets in the home opener at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium.

The Ag Day barbecue, which takes place in the south parking lot at Hughes Stadium, is a CSU tradition that features Colorado commodities such as beef, pork, lamb, potatoes, beans, dairy products, wheat bread, melons, apples, Pepsi products and Colorado-brewed beer.

Colorado-grown flowers will be available, and a drawing from Ag Day ticket holders will take place for two round-trip Frontier Airlines tickets. Representatives from the National Western Stock Show will be on hand. Festivities also include live music, a live broadcast from K99 radio and an appearance by Denver Broncos mascot "Miles."

This year’s Ag Day will be the greenest yet with biodegradable plates, cups and silverware. Most of the waste will be composted. Any leftovers will be distributed to a local charity to help feed the homeless and less fortunate in the community.

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

In addition to the barbecue, which typically draws about 3,500 people, a variety of agricultural activities and displays will be on hand. Ag Day honors the university’s heritage, and all proceeds from the event will fund scholarships to students of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State. In each of the past two years, a dozen $2,000 scholarships were handed out to deserving students.

Tickets for the Ag Day barbecue are $20. Combination barbecue and game tickets are $45. For more information, visit www.CSUAgDay.com or call (970) 491-6497; however, no ticket orders can be placed over the telephone. Tickets ordered online through TicketsWest – www.ticketswest.com – are $15 for the Ag Day barbecue and $40 for the combination barbecue and game ticket.

-30-