22,000: The number of people who walked through the new Tate Center Saturday.

70 tons: the amount of trash removed from campus Sunday.

$40,000: the amount the University spends to clean up after game day.

Thousands upon thousands of fans travel to the University’s campus during game weekends each fall.And every year, the fans never fail to leave their mark.

On Sunday every corner of campus is covered in forgotten tents, grills, chairs, ice boxes, garbage bags, bottles, cans and countless other tailgating remnants.

And the number of tailgaters is growing.

“Tailgaters are not more rowdy now, [there's] just more of them,” said Nash Boney, a retired history professor, referring to how game days have changed since he began teaching at the University in 1965.

But, the campus is better managed on game days now, Boney said.

One of the biggest improvements for game days on campus is the amount of bathrooms available.

In past years, long lines for the women’s bathrooms in the Tate Student Center has been a main concern, said Willie Banks, director of Campus Life.

But now, with the new Tate expansion open, the amount of bathrooms available on game days has tripled from last year.

Banks said 22,000 fans walked through Tate over the weekend either to watch the game in the Dawg Pen or to use the facility’s bathrooms.

He initially estimated on Thursday there would be 9,000 to 16,000 people coming through Tate for the football home opener weekend.

“There was no damage [to Tate], or trash leftover,” Banks said Monday.

Security and staff monitored the building during game day. Banks said he hoped students would take responsibility for the expansion, and tell fans not to ruin one of the newest buildings on campus.

Outside of Tate, there is still a lot of campus that needs to be monitored during game days. But, come Monday, all that’s left in the wake of the football storm are a few “Go Dawgs” stickers stuck to the sidewalk.

So how does the Athletic Association handle the hefty job?

“We pray a lot,” said Charlie Whittemore, associate athletic director.

The Athletic Association hires a private sanitation company, American Stadium Services, to begin cleaning up Sanford Stadium and campus at dawn on Sunday – a job that must be finished by sunset, Whittemore said.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time campus is back to the way the University would want it,” he said.

The Athletic Association began hiring American Stadium Services, which was set up by the Physical Plant, after the 1996 Olympics when several events were held at the University. The company cleans all places associated with the football game on home game weekends – which means almost the entire campus.

The spot on campus requiring the most time and attention, in terms of cleanup, changes year to year, Whittemore said.

“Ten years ago it was South Campus, then the West side,” Whittemore said. “At this point, North campus has the most activity.”

Hiring American Stadium Services is costly though: about $40,000 per game, depending on how much trash they pick up and how long they are needed, according to Whittemore. But, from the look of campus on Monday morning, they seem to be worth it.

More than 70 tons of trash were processed by American Stadium Services this weekend alone. The amount of trash was more than usual because it was a night game, according to Whittemore, meaning people tailgated longer than they would for an earlier game.

Also, since it was the first home game, people tend to use more new things packaged in disposable wrapping, and therefore creating more trash, Whittemore said.

“[American Stadium Services] do a very good job,” said Dexter Adams, director of grounds. “If we see a problem, they will come back immediately.”

The Athletic Association also relies on full-time and part-time staff members who put in about 20 to 30 hours of overtime on these weekends, Whittemore said.

They hire people to clean the suites and bathrooms before and after games, and pay the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to distribute trash and recycling bags to tailgaters on campus.

The next step, Whittemore said, is to get fans involved in restoring the campus.

He said when people drink, they forget to throw away trash and recycle, and need to be constantly reminded.

A media advisory e-mail was sent Sept. 8 advising tailgaters to bag their trash and leave it at their tailgates as a way to help the cleaning crew return campus to normal by Monday.

“It’s a matter of educating the fans,” he said. “When people get conscious, it gets better.”