ISU alumni have another reason to come back to Iowa State this weekend with the annual ISU Alumni Association Tailgate Saturday.

The event, which has been sponsored by the Alumni Association since the early 1980s, is open to all Cyclone fans, said David Orth, assistant director of alumni events. The Inter-Residence Hall Association will be catering a buffet for the tailgate from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. “They do a great job every year,” he said.

Tailgate participants will be able to choose either a boneless grilled chicken breast or Iowa barbecued pork sandwich along with other condiments and side dishes, Orth said.

Pat Thiede, secretary of alumni events, said the ISU Student Alumni Association was a part of the ISU Alumni Association tailgate in past years but is not this year.

Entertainment will be provided during the tailgate by the ISU Alumni Marching Band, the ISU cheer squad and the ISU pom squad.

Because of its winning season this year, the football team should generate more enthusiasm from alumni this year, Thiede said.

She also said although the Yell-Like-Hell finals had been held in the adjacent parking lot during past years, it is no longer near the tailgate this year.

“About 800 to 1,000 people have attended in the past couple of years,” Orth said.

He said the association is expecting about the same amount of people to attend the tailgate this year. Orth said most of the tailgate participants are former ISU alumni wanting to see friends from college in addition to the small reunions some of them hold on their own.

The southwest corner of the Iowa State Center parking lot is the home of this year’s tailgate, he said, which is opposite the area where it has been held previously.