Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

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October 4, 2022
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Recent Texas grads turn tiny tailgate into massive party

All ‘Bout Texas Tailgate definitely lives up to its name.

The group started four years ago when graduates from the years 2007-2009 decided they wanted to stay more connected to the University. What started as a group of six graduates enjoying themselves in the parking lot across the street from the Bob Bullock Museum has grown to a group of 20 with approximately 200 people coming to the tailgate each week.

“We had just graduated from UT and we wanted to show our support,” said Brenton Riley, a 2008 alumnus and one of the founders of the group. “We were all still living in Austin and we all got jobs here. We wanted to do it as big as we possibly could and have something we could invite all of our family and friends out to and just have a really good time out there for all the home games.”


Riley said some members of group who started the tailgate passed up better job opportunities to stay in Austin.

Before every home game, you can find their tents and a huge smoker that says “All Bout Texas” on it. In it, they usually smoke two or three briskets and sausage.

The smoker has been with the group for six years. It belongs to Riley’s roommate, who has had it since he belonged to Absolute Texxas as a student.

“The fact that we all graduated and found job opportunities in Austin that kept us here really contributed to the fact that the tailgate is still around,” said Peter Vincent, class of 2009 graduate. “We live and breathe Texas football.”

The group also has a DJ, a bar and plenty of drinks — especially since Corona and Corona Light sponsor them. The group’s growth has led to sponsorships and a need for organization.

The group definitely adheres to Mack Brown’s saying “Come early, be loud, stay late.” They usually arrive at the parking lot at about nine in the morning and set up and begin drinking.

“It’s ridiculous getting out there and getting to see thousands of people wearing burnt orange and everybody pulling for Texas and having the best time of their weekend,” Riley said.

In the parking lot where All ‘Bout Texas is located, people tend to migrate from tailgate to tailgate. But, All ‘Bout Texas has a television, so people who don’t have tickets can still
enjoy themselves.

In addition to throwing a fun party, the group also gives back to the community. Vincent said that members of the tailgate were all involved in organizations while they were students. Because of this, they knew they wanted to give back.

The group works with The Federico Cuevas Foundation — a nonprofit charity that supports juvenile diabetes research. They donated $500 to the charity last year and hope to double that amount this year. In addition, they make yearly donations to the Bob Bullock museum.

“Tailgating is one of Texas’ greatest traditions, but also we believe that giving back to the community is one of the things that we believe provided the most value to us while we were on campus,” Vincent said. “That’s what our tailgate does. We throw great parties for all of our friends and we also donate our profits to charity.”

Vincent said having both academic and athletic prestige is something very unique about Texas. A native Hawaiian, he moved here to go to school at Texas and hasn’t left.

“I think Texas has a culture of doing everything bigger and better than the rest of the nation,” Vincent said. “Not to say that tailgating doesn’t happen anywhere else, but Texas is very proud of its traditions. I believe that tailgating is kind of an extension of your school pride.”

Riley, who went to Dallas last weekend for the Red River Rivalry, said he hasn’t missed that game for the past seven or eight years and he has traveled to 10 or 15 games.

“We are about as passionate as it comes, I think,” Riley said. “We like to think we have the best tailgate going in the entire city.”

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Recent Texas grads turn tiny tailgate into massive party