Ole Miss Outdoors is gearing up to head to Nashville, Tennessee, for the Vanderbilt-Ole Miss football game as part of the Rustic Rebel Road Trip series.
The series was first introduced this year with planned trips to Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but the trip to Tennessee will be the first one to actually happen due to lack of interest in the previous trips.
The program’s goal is to bring Rebels to cheer on their team at away football games and introduce students to the outdoors.
Students on the trip will ride a bus to Franklin, Tennessee, where they will experience two climbing gyms and lodge in climate-controlled cabins at Henry Horton State Park.
Ole Miss Outdoors Graduate Assistant Francis Liaw said the trip is a safe, alcohol-free way to enjoy an Ole Miss football game.
“Our assistant director came up with this idea to do an away game trip as an alternative to traditional trips,” Liaw said.
Liaw said the trip is open to more people than just university students.
“All of our programs are open to students and the community,” Liaw said. “There’s a common misconception that Ole Miss Outdoors is just a club.”
The trip costs $180 for students and $200 for non-students. The fee includes transportation, camping gear, park entrance fees, a gym entrance fee and meals, but game tickets are not included.
These trips can help students fall in love with the outdoors and lead healthier lifestyles.
“You get to meet different people, and it’s an alternative to a traditional road trip and participating in that drinking culture,” Liaw said. “It’s a wellness alternative to do something and connect it with nature.”
Liaw said there is such a passion for Ole Miss football on campus, but there’s not much of an outdoor culture. He wants to combine the two through the Rustic Rebel Road Trip series.
“We’re trying to merge the outdoor community with the football community and introduce people to the outdoors,” Liaw said. “I would say we don’t have that sense of outdoor culture here, and we’re just trying to cultivate that.”
