Get Up For The Huskies! Road to CFB Visits A UConn Football Game Day

The University of Connecticut is known for its dominance in men’s and women’s basketball, championships in field hockey and soccer, and moderate success in baseball and hockey. It’s not known for historic significance in football. But recent success on the gridiron–including a 9-win season in 2024–has brought more eyes and fans to Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field (“The Rent”). So, I decided to visit East Hartford and check out a UConn football game day for myself.

This weekend, I met up with Andrew Bauhs of College Football Tour – an annual tradition that dates back to 2018. Andrew is nearing completion of the FBS journey and is a must-follow on his website, Instagram, and Twitter.

What should you be on the lookout for if you find yourself at UConn? Below, I have a full game day guide for UConn’s football traditions, tailgates, and more.

Get Up For The Huskies!

Tailgating. Football. Fun.

Game day at UConn takes some careful planning and details. Pratt & Whitney Stadium sits 19 miles away from Storrs and campus, making travel between the two locations difficult on game day unless you plan to stay right in town. Rather than renovate a seriously-outdated Memorial Stadium, UConn opted to build a new one on ap plot adjacent to a Wayfair distribution center, Pratt & Whitney campus, and Cabela’s. The lot was likely a cost-friendly move, but also costs fans a minimum 30-minute drive from the heart of UConn’s campus.

There’s nothing to do near the stadium. As a result, tailgating has become the focus of game day and a real strength. Tailgaters arrive before gates open and are efficient when putting tents up. This really is the center of game day. If you don’t plan on tailgating before a Husky football game, there’s not many pregame alternatives.

This game marked Homecoming and the school ushered in new restrictions for tailgating. According to the tailgaters, this really dampened the spirits and limited the number of tailgaters at this event. Despite the annoyance, the parking lots were overflowing with tailgaters.

Parking at the stadium is a mess. All vehicles are shuffled into the same two entrances, which creates a real backup coming off i-91 and State Route 5. Signage is plentiful and parking on stadium grounds is only $20, but it’s easy to park in the wrong lot and tests patience getting back to the appropriate lot. There’s no local alternatives – don’t test your luck at Cabela’s or the surrounding streets. This also makes egress more difficult than it needs to be.

Tailgaters looking for a bite to eat have a unique option: a walk-up “drive through” window for Wooster Street Pizza outside the northeast gates of the stadium (Gate B). Connecticut is known for its pizza, so this is a great option for visitors.

The cornerstone pregame event is the Husky Walk. Every team has its own team walk, so I err caution when recommending one, but the Husky Walk is worth your time. The DJ, band, and school do a nice job keeping up the energy with a fun pep rally ahead of the team entrance.

The Rent

Attendance at UConn football games historically has been hit-or-miss. Under head coach Jim Mora, the buy in jumped quite a bit and the Huskies started winning more football games. Attendance and success go hand in hand, but more incentive was needed to get student butts in seats. UConn employs a student tier rewards system for attending home football games – attend every home game in a season and you receive top priority in the basketball ticket lottery, which is a notoriously difficult student ticket to land.

Before you head in, be sure to check out the Husky Walk. Every team has its team walk, but the Husky Walk is well done. The band keeps the energy high, as does a DJ, and fans turns out in droves and the walk to the gates is as energetic as any. Stick around long enough and hear Get Up For The Huskies, a jazzy and catchy tune that ties together with the fight song.

Interestingly, it appears Mora nixed the team tunnel run out in favor for a mob hitting drill. For the players, this is likely an exciting jolt to start the game, but for fans, it’s a disappointing sigh. The band performance is short, they arrange into what looks like a tunnel, and then the Huskies just jog to the sidelines.

The crowd arrives late here. That’s a conundrum for tailgate-rich schools like UConn, where fans weigh their options as to enter the stadium or not. Once the seats filled in, The Rent was decently full. Outside of the rare huge opponent (like Michigan in 2022), this is about as full as the stands get.

Rentschler Field offers ample and quality standing room around its main-level concourse. For those looking to escape the sun or just get a closer look, this is some of the better standing room I’ve seen for a stadium this size.

UConn 51, Florida International 10

From the jump, it was clear UConn was going to control the day. The Huskies jumped out to a 27-3 halftime lead before piling 17 more points on in the third quarter. FIU turned the ball over five times and starting QB Keyone Jenkins exited with an apparent injury. Offensively, Joe Fagnano, Cam Edwards, and the Huskies offense had their way. Defensively, UConn logged five sacks, seven tackles for loss, and those five takeaways.

A major disappointment for a first-time UConn visitor: live husky mascot Jonathan XV was nowhere to be found. Fans mentioned the huskies usually make their appearance in the first half and get scoreboard time to announce their arrival. Past anecdotes mention Jonathan leading the team out onto the field. The dogs usually can be found in front of the band throughout the first half.

But this game… nothing. No dogs.

As a dog lover, this was a big bummer. For a college football fan who loves live mascots, this was even worse.

Tickets around the stadium are reasonably priced, so grab some on the home side to stay in the shade. It was an abnormal 80º and the shade was much-appreciated.

It’s hard to go wrong with any seats at Pratt & Whitney Stadium. It’s not a very expensive ticket, either. Don’t break the bank trying to get great seats here – get the most cost-effective seat and you’ll be content with the view.

UConn Football Game Day Picks

Campus and town being 30 minutes away from the stadium makes it difficult to feature football-specific game day picks. Fans should head to the stadium early to tailgate and likely stay a weekend to get the full experience. I opted to stay in New Jersey while friends stayed in New York.

Best pizza: Any! I’ll leave it up to the locals and students to make the proper call there.
Local beer: Urban Lodge. The UConn Territory New England pale ale sold in-stadium is a delight. One of my favorite school-partnered brews.
In-stadium Concessions: Wooster St. Pizza Shop. Connecticut is famous for its pizza, so grabbing a local slice while inside the stadium is a must!

Check out my Delaware football game day guide!

UConn Football Game Day Grades

Stadium: C. The Rent has a nice setup. It feels larger than its 38,000 capacity thanks to a two-tier deck setup. There’s no bad seats and it feels more classic than its 2003 open date. Inside the stadium is great – spacious concourses with views to the field at all times, good seats, all around solid. But, man, it’s hard to ignore the middle-of-nowhere location next to distribution centers, corporate centers, and a Cabela’s.

Tradition: D. With so much time and energy put into basketball, football just takes some of those traditions. The Husky Walk is well done, the crowd has a call-and-response UCONN chant after scores, and the live Jonathan mascots are great (when they’re seen, which we didn’t this week!). But there’s little beyond that and to set the game day apart. No grand team entrance, minimal down-to-down chants, and a light tradition game day overall.

Atmosphere: D. If you wanted to take a nap during the game, there’d be few moments to wake you. There wasn’t much drama, but from the get go fans weren’t all that engaged. The speaker system in The Rent was not calibrated correctly this game and the P.A. announcer was nearly inaudible. The UCONN chants after scores is cool, but it’s just a sleepy environment.

Tailgating: B+. Before I did my game day research and experienced it for myself, I had no idea UConn was such a great tailgating scene. According to those I talked to, this weekend was a bad showing (thanks to several new restrictions placed on them). It was still a tailgating turnout equivalent to something you’d see in the Big Ten or Big 12. Fans arrived before gates opened, got things set up in a flash, and partied all afternoon long. Well done!

Fans: C. UConn sports fans as a whole are knowledgeable and passionate about their Huskies. But with a blue blood basketball program (men’s and women’s), elite hockey program, solid baseball program, and a litany of other championship-winning spots, football falls near last on the care list. Students clear completely out at halftime and the crowd is already late-arriving as is. Those that stay are diehard, but that’s maybe 20% of the stadium.

Extracirriculars: D. Controversial, but this is where I’m choosing to address the stadium location. There’s absolutely zero to do near the stadium on game day. If you wish to check out Hartford and Storrs, that’s a half-hour drive (minimum, Connecticut is one of the most congested states). I’m sure near campus there’s a ton to do and UConn is near New York City, but if you don’t have a tailgate to attend, there’s nothing to do on game days except go in and out of the stadium.