With the Rocky Mountain Showdown quickly approaching, student government, along with ASAP and several other student organizations, have organized the annual “Grill the Buffs” cookout to take place Wednesday on CSU’s West Lawn.

The event will happen together with the Involvement Expo, which will be hosted by ASAP on the plaza, a decision that Taylor Jackson, Director of Student Services at the Associated Students of CSU, said happened for two reasons.

“We really wanted to move the normal date of the event from Friday so that coach McElwain could attend and get to speak to the students,” she said. “So we just communicated with ASAP and made sure it was okay if we put our event next to the involvement fair, on the West Lawn instead of the (Lory Student Center) Plaza like usual. In the end we think it will lead to a great flow of traffic from one event to the other.”

Several other student organizations, such as ASAP, Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement, and the athletics department have all collaborated on bringing this event to campus. Sydney Jackson-Clockston of ASAP said that each group contributed something to the event.

“We are providing the main entertainment — the DJ,” she said. “We mainly just wanted to continue our collaboration with other student organizations and bring this event together to boost school spirit.”

Logan Meschke, a sophomore history major who plans on attending the Grill the Buffs event, expressed hope for this “new era” of athletics, specifically for the football team, as well as excitement at the idea of beating the Buffs this weekend.

“I have more faith in the team this year and I want to give them a fresh start with the new coach,” he said. “Hopefully, we will win more than just a few games this season. I think we actually have a shot at winning this weekend.”

Mohamed Jefri, a senior business administration major and a Ram fan, said this year will be no different for him.

“I always have faith in our team. With the new coach and our amazing players, we can do it this year,” he said. “When you’re a fan, you always want to believe its going to be a better year than the year before, but this year I think it really will be. I’ll never lose hope for our team.”

This high level of excitement is exactly the kind of school spirit Jackson said they are hoping to increase with this event.

“The new attitude in athletics also contributed to increased desire for cooperation between athletics and ASCSU to really make this event a partnership,” she said in an email to the Collegian. “We are thrilled that Coach McElwain and Athletic Director Jack Graham are so passionate about creating a strong relationship with student leaders and having a positive image for the new era in athletics.”

When considering whether to go on Thursday, Mescke said attendance will be an easy decision.

“Its free food,” he said. “Why not go?”

ASCSU Beat Reporter Carrie Mobley can be reached at news@collegian.com.