Official Big Ten Conference Ticket and Travel Packages
The Big Ten Conference divisions and 2011 schedule are now official! The Nebraska Alumni Association is already hard at work on plans for our Big Ten Conference football ticket and travel packages, open to all alumni, friends and fans.
The association will offer ticket and travel package options to each of Nebraska's Big Ten road games in 2011. We are in the process of securing hotel rooms. Travel packages will also include game tickets, transportation, exclusive pre-game events and more! We’ll continue to finalize the details in the coming days.
Big Ten Wait List
To be among the first to know about trip details, send your name and email address to ppenner@huskeralum.org (put "Big Ten travel" in the subject line). Demand for trips will be high, and priority will be given to Nebraska Alumni Association life members on the waiting list. To become a member today, call Bob Stelter at (402) 472-4246, or click here. Remember, you don’t have to be a UNL graduate to join!
*Nebraska will play Penn State every year as its cross-division rival.
Thanks for your interest in traveling with the alumni association. We look forward to hosting you on the ONLY official Nebraska football trips!
For the news release from the Big Ten Conference, visit bigten.org.
Big Ten Travel Wait List
To be among the first to know about trip details, send your name and email address to ppenner@huskeralum.org (put "Big Ten travel" in the subject line).
Demand for trips will be high, and priority will be given to Nebraska Alumni Association life members on the waiting list. To become a member today, call Bob Stelter at (402) 472-4246, or click here. Remember, you don’t have to be a UNL graduate to join!
Big Ten Destinations
This fall, we'll take a look at each of our potential future destinations and its respective Big Ten university. Check back often; a city will be added weekly.
City Park (hiking and biking trails, athletic fields, swimming, ice skating and children's rides)
Iowa Children’s Museum
Coralville Lake and Devonian Fossil Gorge
Finkbine Golf Course
U.S. News and World Report ranking for top public universities:29
University Enrollment:28,705
Football Stadium:Kinnick Stadium (70,585)
Notable traditions:
Weeks of Welcome – During the first weeks of classes, the University of Iowa, along with Iowa City, provides many different events to welcome students back to campus. Some of the events include a city-wide barbecue, a fireworks show along the banks of the Iowa River, and stations where new students can get basic information about campus and classes.
Dance Marathon is a fundraiser the UI and Greek community sponsor to raise money for cancer patients at the UIHC. Students spend months raising money, standing outside of local bars with donation cans, and their reward is a 24-hour dance party located in the IMU. (http://www.enotes.com/university-of-iowa-guide/traditions)
Homecoming Week involves a large party every night. Many head out to bars or house parties, and the week culminates in a parade sponsored by the Greek houses and featuring various floats and famous UI alumni.
Other annual events include: Family Weekend, Riverfest, Cultural Diversity Festival, and Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Week.
Penn State University enrollment – 45,000 (University Park)
U.S. News and World Report ranking for top public universities: 15
Football Stadium: Memorial Stadium - 110,753
Notable traditions:
A recent tradition started in the last several years at Beaver Stadium has the student section hopping and singing in unison to the thumping dance number "Zombie Nation."
Camping out before games to obtain prime seating has also become a tradition. "Paternoville," as the campsite is called, increased in population during the winning 2005 season.
Not knowing the words to the Alma Mater is probably the greatest Penn State tradition. Students typically know the general tune, but sing "I don’t know the words to this song" instead of any actual lyrics.
The Mifflin Streak—every year, the students of Mifflin Hall streak across campus. Running down Mifflin Road naked during finals week has been a long-standing tradition at University Park.
U.S. News and World Report ranking for top public universities:22
University Enrollment:45,361
Football Stadium:TCF Bank Stadium (50,805)
Notable traditions:
The antique lamp on the Regents' Seal represents the metaphysical sciences; the telescope, the physical sciences; the plow, the industrial arts; and the palette with brushes, the fine arts. The Latin motto means "a common bond for all the arts."
Viennese Ball – The student union, Wilson Commons, is transformed for a night into an elegant ballroom where students dress in formal wear and waltz the night away, accompanied by the University Chamber Orchestra.
The "Golden" Gophers – The "Golden" adjective has not always been a part of the Gopher nickname. During the 1930s, the Gophers wore gold jerseys and pants. Legendary KSTP-AM radio announcer Halsey Hall coined the term "Golden Gophers" in reference to the team's all-gold attire on the field.
UNL alumni chapters in Michigan:Southeast Michigan Huskers
Ann Arbor's must-see attractions:
Museum of Natural History at the University of Michigan
The Ark (nonprofit organization and nightclub)
Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
Kerrytown (shopping, restaurants, and Farmer's Market)
U.S. News and World Report ranking for top public universities:4
University Enrollment: 37,197
Football Stadium: Michigan Stadium, nicknames "The Big House"- 107,501
Notable traditions:
Wade in the Water – At the new student orientation, the tour guide makes students walk through the fountain just outside of the Michigan League, in the direction of the Diag and the Grad Library. It is a tradition that upon graduation, students walk through the fountain the opposite way, towards Rackham Hall, home of Michigan's Graduate Department.
UM has a fierce rivalry with many teams, including Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State, the latter of which has been referred to by ESPN as the greatest rivalry in American sports.
Rumor has it that if a student steps on the bronze M in the middle of the Diag before their first bluebook exam, they are destined to fail.
Michigan claims to be the only university with an alumni chapter on the moon! Apollo 15, an all U-M space flight, flew to the moon from July 26-August 7, 1971, with astronauts Col. DAVID R. SCOTT, '49-'50, commander; Maj. ALFRED WORDEN, MS’63, command module pilot; Col. JAMES IRWIN, MS’57, lunar module pilot. It was the first flight in which all three astronauts were from the same university. They carried three U-M items: a miniature of the U-M flag, a miniature of the U-M Dept. of Aerospace Engineering seal, and a charter of the U-M Alumni Club of the Moon, which was left on the moon.
UNL alumni chapters in Illinois: Chicagoans for Nebraska
Urbana-Champaign's must-see attractions:
Restaurants, bars, retail and museums in "Campustown" district
Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum
Alto Vineyards (Champaign)
Orpheum Children's Science Museum
University of Illinois enrollment - 36,738
University of Illinois Alumni Association membership – 600,000 (all alumni are considered members)
U.S. News and World Report ranking for top public universities: 39
Football Stadium: Memorial Stadium - 62,872
Notable traditions:
Students with tests in Lincoln Theater often rub the nose on Lincoln's bust for luck. After decades of use, the glaze on the bust has been worn away, thanks to anxious test-takers.
The "Illibuck" was a turtle that was used as trophy between the Ohio Buckeyes and the Fighting Illini. After years of changing locations, "Illibuck" unfortunately passed on, and he has now been replaced by new turtles: Sachem of Illinois, and Bucket and Dipper of Ohio State. These turtles maintain peaceful relationships between the two warring teams.
Unofficial St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 8 of the school year. Because students are generally gone on spring break during the real St. Patrick's Day, unofficial St. Patrick's Day was invented so that the students would not lose out on a perfectly good holiday
U.S. News and World Report ranking for top public universities: 9
Football Stadium: Camp Randall Stadium - 80,321
Notable traditions:
Annual Mifflin Street Block Party – Since 1960, residents on this street open their homes and liquor cabinets to anyone wanting to party. Bands are often hired for entertainment, and you can expect to find at least 10,000 student attendees. It started as a Vietnam protest demonstration in 1969. It was ranked the largest block party in the world by the Associated Press in 2007.
While winter can be one of the worst times weather-wise, UW students try to make the most of it. Bascom Hill is perfect for sledding, and students will use everything from notebooks to cardboard boxes to travel its slope.
The Helen C. White Library (better known as College Library) is one of the main places on campus to "study". However, this library is also home to great socializing. Many people go to the library for a total of three hours, and only do ten minutes' worth of homework. It is believed that the library is one of the best places to meet your future wife.
The city of Madison also has some traditions to offer the students. During late spring, summer, and fall, Capital Square is closed every Saturday for the Farmer's Market. Here, students can buy fresh produce, handmade jewelry, wild flowers, and other craft items.
