Camping Out for Ole Miss Baseball

By Averie Siegel

IMC Student

Hundreds of students have been lining up near Swayze Field since Tuesday morning, hoping to their perfect spots for Friday’s 2023 baseball season opener.

When the gates for students open at 1 p.m., these diehard fans will they will have waited outside for more than four days, sleeping in tents and on cots and using portable restrooms for four days. 

Hunter Seals, who was there Tuesday night, said he be there until the first pitch except for going to class. He said he and his friends have a strategic plan. 

“My friends and I are taking shifts in order to go to class,” he said. “But we haven’t gotten a lot of sleep out here.” 

For many years, Ole Miss students have gathered to make a line for the Chair Run at Swayze Field in order to have their own seats in the student section for. But this year is different. 

With a national championship under their belt from last season, students this year began the line before noon on Tuesday. 

Ole Miss students are not charged an entry fee to get into Swayze, but that doesn’t mean they will have their own chairs to sit in. 

Thus, the waiting students have set up a baseball tent city and a line for the chair rush, which will likely give them a guaranteed seat for every home game.

Will Fletcher, one of the students camping out, said he had been out in the tents for 12 hours as of Wednesday morning. He had skipped class and was sleeping outside. 

The majority of students who are camping out brought their cars, so they have easy shelter in case of rain. But rain or shine, no one seemed too concerned about the conditions.