More Than Parties: Traditions, Tailgates & College Town Culture
What makes a true party school? At PubClub.com, we look beyond student nightlife. Our rankings are based on firsthand experience with college football weekends, legendary tailgates, longtime traditions, great college bars and something many rankings overlook: alumni who continue returning years after graduation because the party never really ends.
By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Editor & Publisher
Nearly everyone has a list of Top Party Schools.
PubClub.com was one of the first and to let you know what makes our list, we’re giving you our criteria right here:
1.) A Tradition Of Partying. PubCub.com is no flash-in-the-pan website. We are not suckered into quick trends, something that’s here today and gone tomorrow. That’s why our top criteria is for a school that has a long tradition of partying. Much like a great football team or traditional basketball power, it’s that year-in, year-out consistency that stands out to us.
2.) Tailgate Parties. You can’t be a top party school without having a top tailgate party for your football games!
3.) Partying Regardless Of The Game’s Outcome. Maybe you’ve got a championship contender or are playing a big rival and you don’t win. Or your team is just plain bad. Well, this is what separates the winners from the losers in our rankings and where our cheer really comes into play: “Win Or Lose, We Booze!”
4.) Partying Alumni. All college campuses are great party places because students like to party. Just check out the comments on our Top Party Schools from places you’ve never heard of before, like Wheaton College, Plymouth State and SUNY Albany (link below). But what makes schools really stand out to us are how those students continue to party after college. That’s why USC is ranked; the Trojan alumni seem to have never graduated the way they go after it years after being in college.
5.) Great College Bars. This is why Texas is #1 nearly every year on our list. Austin is one of the best party cities in America . As proof, all you need is to spend a couple of hours on Sixth Street. And as a bonus, there’s also Lake Travis, one of the top lake party destinations in the USA.
PubClub’s Top Party Schools Criteria
✅ Long-standing party tradition
✅ Legendary football tailgates
✅ Parties regardless of the score
✅ Alumni who return every season
✅ Great college bars
Kevin Wilkerson is the founder of PubClub.com, an award-winning journalist and nightlife expert who has covered events, nightlife and the college party scene for more than two decades. While working as a newspaper reporter, he received an Associated Press award for investigative journalism.
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