More than 600 Ithaca College students will load on to buses Saturday, Nov. 16 and head to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey for the Cortaca Jug game, a historic football rivalry between IC and SUNY Cortland.
IC’s athletics department ordered 12 buses with 52 seats each, which will leave the college’s A&E Center at 7 a.m. Saturday.
Over 40,000 tickets have been purchased for the game, making it the highest selling football game in Division III history.
The option to sign up for a bus was provided to students when tickets first went on sale. Students need their IC identification card and a ticket to the game in order to board. However, students must pay a $50 fee if they show up without both items or if they decide to cancel after Nov. 8.
Samantha Stafford, IC assistant director of residential life and a member of the Cortaca Transportation Committee, is responsible for organizing the buses.
“We wanted something to hold people accountable to,” Stafford said. “We didn’t want people to sign up and then not show up the day of the game, especially with the number of students still emailing me to see if there’s room on the bus.”
Though IC sophomore Michael Memis has a car, he plans on taking the bus to MetLife.
“It just made more sense for me to take the bus, even though it’ll be a little longer and I’d have to get up a little early,” Memis said. “But I also don’t have to pay for gas either, which is nice.”
The buses should arrive around 10:30 a.m., in time for tailgating at the stadium. Game kickoff is at 1 p.m.
Stafford said she views this year’s Cortaca with a sense of camaraderie between students and alumni alike. It’s uncertain if the historic game will be held at MetLife in the future, so this experience is worth cherishing, she added.
“These are one of those things that you’ll leave college remembering, whether you’re a first-year student or a senior,” Stafford said. “You’ll remember that one time when we played in the big football stadium, so I think it’s cool to be a part of that and be able to organize it.”
