OAKLAND CITY, In. (WEHT) — Oakland City University is officially back on the football field for the first time since World War II. To celebrate, Oakland City fans of all ages took part in the University’s first tailgate.
“Yea, this is wonderful. Awesome set up. I love seeing all the crowd and just like I said our community needed something positive and this has been tremendous,” said Whitney Powers, an Oakland City alum.
Wood Memorial High School is serving as the home facility for Coach Todd Miller and the team. Food vendors, bouncy houses, and games lined Mighty Oaks Avenue.
“My team at OCU has done a great job of getting the word out there, and there’s been a lot of buzz about it in the community. So, this is a lot larger than thought it was gonna be, so I think it’s only gonna get better,” said Dr. Ron Dempsey, the President of the University.
Dempsey and his wife each took part in the festivities. His wife participated in the climbing wall, while he says he’s spent the majority of his time enjoying the food.
A cornhole tournament was hosted, along with a dunk tank.
Players experienced their first Mighty Oaks walk during the tailgate.
Student-athletes in other sports are hopeful about the atmosphere games will continue to create for the campus.
“We’re just doing stuff to put our city [and] our school on the map. So, anything that we can do to bring more people in and to get more people looking at us in a positive light. I’m excited about it,’ said Erin Whitehead, an OCU basketball player.
Oakland City will be playing in the Midwest Sprint Football League.
Sprint football is played the same way as your typical football game, except players must weigh in at no more than 178 pounds.
