The rivalry between Ole Miss and LSU brought fans together throughout this past weekend for intense tailgating — and not just for fun.
Reggie’s Bar in Tigerland hosted the National Tailgating League on Friday night as it traveled through the U.S. on its College Tour.
The NTL College Tour is designed to find the ultimate tailgating destination, determine which universities have the most loyal fans and crown the best team “Bag Toss King,” according to a news release.
Bag Toss is a tailgating game similar to horseshoes. Contestants take turns pitching corn bags at wooden boxes to land the bag on the box or into a hole in the box.
The NTL set up several cash-prize bag toss tournaments, live music and food vendors.
Fans from rival teams faced off for cash prizes and bragging rights. The teams that win each competition during the regular College Tour receive entry into The NTL College Tour Championship tournament on Dec. 4 in Charlotte, N.C. These teams will compete for a $10,000 prize, according to a news release.
Sixty-four teams competed Friday. Results were not available by press time.
Todd Hirschfeld, founder and commissioner of The National Tailgating League, expressed in the news release what The NTL has to offer for students and fans nationwide.
“The NTL is bringing a whole new level of tailgating to the college environment,” Hirschfeld said. “Our events bring together students, fans and alumni who all share a passion for their team and the desire to engage in exciting pregame activities.”
Prior to the Saturday showdown between LSU and Ole Miss, Tony Chachere’s held the Southeastern Conference Tailgating Cookoff. Jay Ducote, avid tailgater and author of the blog Bite and Booze, cooked a bourbon blackberry bone-in Boston butt to represent the University.
Ducote will battle Mississippi State and Ole Miss in the final rounds of the Tony Chachere’s competition, which ends Nov. 30.
All three finalists cooked their dishes in front of TV cameras for the Cookoff on the south lawn of Tiger Stadium.
Each contestant had an individual area in which to prepare his or her food.
“The Cookoff itself was not judged,” Ducote said. “The finals are going on right now through online voting.”
Voting for the finals will last until Nov. 30. Students can vote for Ducote and the University at csssports.com.
Ducote said he hopes to have the same amount of support in the final round of voting that he did during the first round.
“I’ve seen a huge jump in votes over the last two weeks of the first round,” he said. “That propelled LSU to victory in the first round.”
 
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Contact Kayla DuBos at [email protected]