College football: USU students camp out early for front-row seats to BYU game

Logan • How does it sound to sit in a tent in sub-40-degree Logan weather waiting for a siren to wake you up before the dawn?

If it sounds fun, you might've had a chance to sit in the front row of the Utah State student section at Romney Stadium on Friday night.

More than 2,000 students camped out on the campus quad for a shot at a wristband, the early entry pass into the Aggies' sold-out home game against BYU, although temperatures sunk and students had to be alert for a siren that announced the school was handing out wristbands.

Matt Dixon, 25, and Keyanee Faught, 22, were among the first to set up camp. In their tent, they had a power generator and a TV to help them muddle through the night.

Faught said they arrived at 4 p.m., and by 6:30, the quad was filling up. The students waited until about 4 a.m. for the wristbands.

"Everybody has to get out of there right away," Dixon said. "It's like herding cattle — it's what they do up in Aggie Country."

From there, the waiting process was not over. Students lined up outside the stadium until 4 p.m. — a half-hour earlier than the normal entry time — when they were allowed in to the stands. From there, it was a cascade of bodies down to the front of Romney.

Typically, the Utah State student ticketing process is a mere scan-and-enter arrangement, Aggies athletics officials said. BYU is one of the few games that merits "camp-out" status. Utah State seats more than 6,000 students for every home game.

Up since 2:30 a.m., Faught was adamant: He would do it again for his front-row seat.

"I'm about to see Utah State beat down the Cougars," Faught said before the game. "I got adrenaline rushing through me right now."

kgoon@sltrib.com

Twitter: @kylegoon