The grind doesn’t stop: Student workers keep Oxford running during game days
While Ole Miss celebrates game day, student workers keep Oxford running
Student workers of the Square, unite!
These student workers won’t be tailgating
While thousands of University of Mississippi students spend home football game weekends on the Square, in the Grove and at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, others are clocking in to work.
For students who work at Oxford’s restaurants, bars, stores and other businesses, football weekends can amount to some of the busiest shifts of the year — and missing out on the quintessential game day culture happening just outside.
In a college town built around SEC football, the difference is especially noticeable. Ole Miss home games bring hundreds to thousands into Oxford, filling businesses with fans all weekend.
For those businesses to serve the crowds, somebody has to work. Often, those employees are students.
University of Mississippi senior Addison Johnston, an anthropology and classics major from Oxford, works at Lost Dog Coffee. Johnston said she works almost every game weekend.
“Friday and Sunday are definitely more impacted by game day,” Johnston said.
Bailee Brewer, a junior banking and finance major from Biloxi, Miss., and Nora Kelly, a senior criminal justice major from Chicago, agree with the sentiment. Kelly has worked at City Grocery since 2024, and Brewer works at El Charro.
While Saturdays may be the main event for fans or bars, Fridays can be the real challenge for restaurant employees.
“The night before game days are the busiest shifts I have ever worked,” Brewer said.
City Grocery serves around 200 people on the Friday night before a home game, according to Kelly. She said reservations can fill within minutes of becoming available, with customers waiting until midnight for reservations to open up online.
“Football Fridays are some of the most hectic shifts you could possibly imagine,” Kelly said.
The rush offers a different perspective on the football weekend that students experience outside the restaurant.
“Game weekends are some of the busiest shifts we work, and people get impatient or rude,” Brewer said. “We’re dealing with way more people than any normal day, and we’re working as fast as we can.”
For those working in Oxford’s service industry, those same weekends can mean spending hours on their feet serving the fans who have traveled to experience them.
“I think students that tailgate or go to games don’t realize how many students have to work during them,” Johnston said.
Working during the game itself can bring a different pace. Kelly said City Grocery is often slower during games, as fans spend their time in the Grove or inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
“We are on our feet, moving and interacting with countless people, during shifts that can be over eight hours long and last until the late hours of the night,” Kelly said. “While other students are able to be in the Grove, go to the game and continue to party after, service workers see the opposite of those days.”
Naturally, working while the rest of campus celebrates a beloved tradition can come with fear of missing out.
“I do sometimes feel like I’m missing out on a part of the ‘typical college experience’ when I’m working during game days,” Kelly said. “But both my managers and coworkers do a fantastic job of keeping the game day energy and Ole Miss spirit alive for both the staff and patrons.”
But other students may make the choice to work during games, especially with how hard it can be to secure student tickets.
“I choose to work game days since I was unable to get football tickets,” Brewer said. “I went to every home game freshman and sophomore year. To me, there’s only so many football games you can go to.”
Johnston, being a local, shared a similar perspective.
“I went to all of the home games my freshman year,” Johnston said. “Also, I grew up here, so it’s not as big of a deal to me.”
That game day energy is difficult to escape in Oxford, even from behind a restaurant’s doors.
The Square becomes an extension of the football weekend as restaurants and bars fill with visitors before and after games. A win can send fans downtown ready to continue celebrating long after the stadium empties, and service workers cultivate that.
Keeping that party going can mean balancing the demands of being a college student with shifts that stretch for more than eight hours.
“A lot of the people (working on game days) are students too, and they’re giving up their own game day to work,” Brewer said. “A lot of the people working game day are students balancing work with classes, schoolwork, sorority activities and other commitments.”
Kelly said the attitude of the customers she serves can have a large impact on her game day experience as a student service worker.
“Game days are long, difficult days, particularly for students who are balancing classes, homework and a physically demanding job,” Kelly said. “Kind words go a long way, and how you communicate with us could be the sole thing that determines how our shift may go.”
Johnston echoed how hard some interactions may be.
“Some (teams’ fans) are extremely rude and inconsiderate,” Johnston said.
During a tiring, emotional SEC football weekend, anything goes, and as these student workers prove, that applies for more than just on the field or in the Grove.
“I wish people had a little more patience and empathy … to understand how much work is happening behind the scenes to make game day enjoyable for everyone,” Brewer said.
However, despite long, taxing shifts and the occasional feeling that she is missing out on making fun memories, Kelly said working football weekends has become another way of participating in them.
“Being a part of the behind-the-scenes team that helps curate guests’ game day weekend experience is beyond rewarding,” Kelly said. “I thrive when I get to help others, even more so when I know that the work I’m doing can be a memorable part of someone’s weekend.”
