Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Football vs. VMI Keydets Football — Hotels & Tickets

A genuine student-and-fan bar and grill sitting steps from campus, so you can grab a burger and a beer and still make the gates on foot instead of moving your car.

A locally run seafood market that flies in wild-caught Gulf catch and will cook you a real Cajun plate to eat in or take to the tailgate; open Tuesday through Saturday until 7, so hit it before a Saturday kickoff.

An easygoing pub founded by a retired Tech professor with 14 rotating craft taps, where you can knock back a pint and a burger with other fans before the short drive over to Tucker.

Housed in a 100-year-old brick building with a courtyard and balcony, this New Orleans-leaning spot is where locals land for a celebratory po'boy and a full bar after the final whistle.

Cookeville's first microbrewery (open since 2016) and the town's living room after games, pouring 20-plus house craft brews with room for the whole tailgate crew on a Saturday.

Set on the WestSide with a back patio, this Southern-with-Creole-and-Asian-flair kitchen is the slightly-nicer sit-down for when the win deserves a real dinner rather than another basket of wings.

On game days fans are welcome in any unmarked space around the stadium on a first-come basis, so arrive early, grab a close spot, and skip the paid-lot hunt.

For active tailgating you reserve and pay for a spot through TTUSports.com ahead of time — this is the designated tailgate park, separate from the free general lots.

Gates unlock 1.5 hours before kickoff and the west side just finished a $57.2 million rebuild, so get in early to check out the new grandstand, club seating, and concession stands.

Open since 1962 in a former bus depot and now on the National Register of Historic Places, this is the classic Cookeville game-morning ritual — get there early before they sell out.

A colorful, nostalgic scoop shop with 40-plus flavors right by the historic Cookeville Depot Museum — the perfect walk-around stop with the family whether you're celebrating a win or drowning a loss.