Hey Bobcat fans,

I will be heading to the Ohio-NMSU game on 9/8.  I'm staying at the OU Inn, but I am planning on getting to town early Saturday to check out Athens as I have heard great things.  Anyone have any suggestions on restaurants, things to do, etc.? 

I also plan on tailgating before the game and it would be great to meet as many of you as possible.  That said, are there any areas around the staidum to target in the way of tailgating?  Ideally I would like to park and set up shop where the action is.  Any suggestions are welcome.

I should also note I have a lot of respect for your program.  Solich is a great coach, and I miss the days when Coach Lightener and Coach Gdowski were Aggies.  I also enjoy the Relentless series.  That is a top notch look inside a "mid-major" FBS program.  I wish NMSU would make/produce a similar program.

Looking forward to the game, and again, any suggestions are welcome.

CA, great that you can make the trip to Athens.  I was lucky to make the trip to Las Cruces last year and really enjoyed myself.  You'll find that Athens is MUCH smaller than LC, but a real, authentic college town.  If you are staying at OU Inn you will literally be able to walk to Peden and Tailgreat Park, so if it were me, I would plan on doing just that.  You will certainly find many warm and embracing Cat fans that will welcome you to join their tailgates, so look for open invites from Attackers following my post.

As for dining, night life, etc, I have the same recommendation: walk.  You are a 15 minute walk (albeit uphill), to Uptown Athens, where all the action is.  The standard recommendation for dining there is Casa Nueva, an employee owned Mexican restaurant which is quite good.  However I doubt you will want to make the trip to Athens to eat cuisine that you can have on every street corner in LC.  I'll leave it to others to suggest preferred dining, and FYI, there is also a BW's, but again you have that in LC.

Safe travels and enjoy the Athens experience!

Food/Beer:

I think that Jacky O's is a fantastic bar with pretty good food. The beer they brew is very good, and a lot of ingredients in the food is local. Casa Nueva is a great option as well. As for bars, I really like the Pigskin.

Keep in mind that 80% of the market is driven by student sales (according to local store/bar owners) so most options are within a college budget. Athens is the epitome of a college town. 

Campus:

OUr campus is divided into what's referred to as "Greens" (sections of land, really). 

College Green is the oldest part of campus. There you will see multiple buildings nearing 200 years of age that are still in use. They are used by the high administration including, but not limited to, President (Dr.) Roderick McDavis.

East Green is almost completely residential. There you will find well over 10 dorm buildings, one which I lived in my sophomore year, Shively. It's a great place to walk through if you want to get a feel for what it's like to be a student at OHIO. 

South Green contains the largest quantity of student dorms. This is a must see not only because of it's size and beauty, but because these building will be torn down and replaced soon. (Excluding the front 4 and Adams hall) Adams is a new honors dorm and is what the rest will look like when reconstruction is completed. 

And then there's West Green, which is an especially spectacular place on OUr campus. Here you will find a mix of dorms, academic buildings such as The Russ College of Engineering, and our world-class Convocation Center where our basketball team plays. In case you ask yourself, just know that the Convo holds over 13,000. 

Specific Buildings to visit:

You should definitely visit our main student center, the John Calhoun Baker Center. It has received multiple awards for it's architecture and beauty. It holds various offices, student organizations, as well as a dining hall, restaurant, grand ball rooms, and private meeting areas. 

Walter Hall is impressive. The Walter family are large donors to the university, including the initial 8 million for the indoor practice field plus 2 million to afore mentioned convocation Center for OHIO. Mr. Walter is the founder and CEO of Cardinal Health inc. (according to a dean they do about 100 Billion in revenue a year.. not bad). 

The Ridges are a must. An absolute must. It's an old insane asylum turned into academic offices and research laboratories. Some of it remains untouched. 

I'll cut it off there, that should easily fill a day and give you a great idea on what we stand for at OHIO. 

Enjoy your trip, and as always.. Go OHIO

I saw Las Cruces last night from atop Sandia Peak.

My advice: Be prepared for humidity.

Thanks for all the great advice--I'm only staying the one night but I will try and get as much in as possible.  Looking forward to the food and tailgates! 

CAggie,

As you make your away around Tailgreat park, just be on the look out for TRodge's mashed potatoes.  I'll advise you to avoid them.