The Grove. The Quad. The State Fairgrounds.

Tailgaters across the Southeast recognize these names as some of the prime locations to enjoy a barbecue or a picnic right before the big game.

They’re part of each school’s campus tradition. They’re held in high esteem by alumni and students alike. They’re the spaces that draw thousands of football devotees to stadiums in the fall.

And sometimes they get trashed.

If the University can produce 70 tons of trash in one football Saturday, imagine what damage could come from the combined efforts of the entire Southeastern Conference.

“Like every other school in this conference, we’re dealing with a horrendous amount of trash, debris, litter, etcetera that is left behind,” said Keith Bagwell, director of facilities operations for Auburn Athletics.

But this year, Auburn University decided to let a private company deal with a small portion of the tailgating hassle.

The Tailgate Guys, a company founded by two Auburn alumni, have taken over the tailgating experience on Auburn’s new campus green, an area near the stadium.

“At first there wasn’t going to be any tailgating on the green,” said Parker Duffy, president and co-founder of the company, in a phone interview Monday. “It was quite an investment to develop this area the way it is.”

The university wanted to preserve the green space, he said.

“They didn’t want it to get trashed like some of the other areas on campus,” Duffy said.

But the Tailgate Guys make sure that doesn’t happen.

The company sets up tents, tables, chairs and other tailgating paraphernalia for those willing to pay. A fan would fork over about $200 per game for the cheapest option, Duffy said.

After the game, the company works through Sunday to make sure the green space is spotless.

At Louisiana State University, the athletic department counts on fans to help clean up after the party.

“We’ve encouraged trying to have our fans pick up behind them and clean up their areas,” said Eddie Nunez, associate athletic director for LSU.

The university has increased the number of trash receptacles across campus, Nunez said in a phone interview last week. LSU also provides a detailed fan guide outlining the rules and regulations of game day etiquette.

“[The fans] take this fan guide almost as a little Bible,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean the more than 100,000 fans flocking to Baton Rouge for a home game fail to leave their mark.

“After the football game, the cleanup is pretty intense,” Nunez said.

Tackling the trash is a collaborative effort between the university, an athletic facilities group and other entities, he said. The university is restored to its pre-tailgate appearance by 6 a.m. Monday.

Though LSU tailgaters spread out across campus, the University of Mississippi takes a different approach.

Rebel fans pack into the Grove, a 10-acre arena that fills to capacity each football weekend.

“The day before, you see all of these trash cans and other things that the university has set up, then the next day you just can’t see a patch of grass,” said Ashlyn Jones, a student at UM. “It’s just so much fun.”

Jones, a freshman from Clarksville, Miss., has been tailgating at the university since she was 9 years old. She said the school does a good job handling the amount of tailgaters coming through on Saturdays.

“The university has been pretty good about putting the garbage cans out there for the public,” she said in a phone interview Tuesday.

The school has tried to tighten its game day organization throughout the past 15 years, said Andy Mullins, who chairs UM’s game day committee.

But despite the university’s efforts to provide enough garbage bins and recycling areas, the Grove “still gets trashed pretty good,” Mullins said in a phone interview Tuesday.

“If it’s a lot of people in the Grove, the garbage cans fill up pretty quickly,” he said.

Anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 fans set up in the Grove on Saturdays, he said. The school gets campus cleaned up by 11 a.m. Sunday.

“We really have a great experience here tailgating,” Mullins said. “And we put our best effort into making sure it runs smoothly.”