Americans love football season for the sport of it, but also for that thing that turns a game into a social occasion: tailgating. Each football season, fans, alumni, and friends gather for kickoff to support one of their favorite college football teams — relishing copious amounts of Buffalo wings, barbecue ribs, chargrilled briskets, and (if you’re attending Louisiana State University’s tailgate), Creole seafood gumbo along the way. Tailgates are about supporting your team, but also about kicking back, eating and drinking, and observing time-honored traditions.

Click here for Best 25 Colleges for Tailgating (Slideshow)

For the third year in a row, The Daily Meal has tackled the task of identifying the very best colleges for tailgating in America. To determine this year’s list, we created a public poll, asking readers to tell us about their favorite college tailgate scenes, sharing details about campus tailgating spaces, time-honored traditions, and, of course, classic dishes!

Click here to see the Best Colleges for Tailgating 2014

As we evaluated our list of nominees this year, we noticed that there were a lot of Division I schools included, so to diversify, we added more Division II and Division III schools to our survey — and some of them made the top 25.

Click here to see the Best Colleges for Tailgating 2013

Newcomers to this year’s list include McDaniel College of Westminster, Maryland; Prairie View A&M University of Prairie View, Texas; and University of Alabama of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Click here for the 75 Best Colleges in America for Food.

If you plan on attending a few college games this year, here are a few whose tailgate will have you never wanting to leave.

#25 University of Missouri



Photo Modified: Flickr / Tim Tai / CC BY 4.0 Tailgating at Mizzou means everyone is involved.

University of Missouri — fondly known as Mizzou by many — makes its entry onto our list this year at No. 25. If you plan on being anywhere near the Missouri town of Columbia this season, this is a tailgate to enjoy. Head to “the jungle” located at the top of the field, where the crowd is young, boisterous, and filled with booze and food. For a more family-friendly area, try the Mizzou Experience at the Hearnes Fieldhouse, where there is catered food — perfect if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of hosting your own tailgate.

#24.Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is one of the schools to envy when it comes to killer tailgating. The celebration begins many hours before kickoff, thanks to the "Midnight Yell" on Kyle Field. But Texas A&M has other rich traditions, including the giant maroon tailgating buses arrayed around campus and the Corps of Cadets March-In about an hour-and-a-half before kickoff.

For the full list, continue onto the next page and be sure to click through the slideshow to learn more about these incredible tailgates.