Elegant Oxford, Miss., becomes a party on Ole Miss game weekends
A University of Mississippi home game Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi, is a lively time when strangers become friends, friends become family, and life-long memories are made.
Located just 75 miles south of Memphis and named for Oxford, England, the city is known for its ties to Ole Miss–the university’s more commonly used moniker. But its charms go beyond its relationship to the school.
Its refined hospitality is evident by the strangers who greet each other with the Ole Miss signature phrase “Hotty Toddy!” It’s also shown by the residents who open their homes for “pre-games” on Friday nights and the people who invite the opposing team’s fans to their tailgates.
Oxford’s cultural appeal lies in its love of a good outfit, found at the 1839-established Neilson Department Store and other upscale boutiques, and a good meal from neighborhood eateries and fine-dining establishments like City Grocery. One of Oxford’s four Michelin Guide-recommended restaurants, it’s known for its Southern dishes. Try the creamy shrimp and grits, a staple on the lunch and dinner menus and the menu for the second-story, brick-walled Bar at City Grocery.
There’s an appreciation of the arts, whether that’s hearing live music at Proud Larry’s, seeing original pieces at SouthSide Gallery, or exploring literary locales. Those include Rowan Oak, the open-for-tours home of Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner, and Square Books, a captivating two-story store lined with massive, book-filled wooden shelves and signed author photos.
During game weekends, Oxford’s population of 27,000 full-time residents and nearly 24,000 university students can swell to 130,000-plus as football fans roll into town.
“Our mayor says it becomes one of Mississippi’s largest cities on game day,” says Kinney Ferris, Visit Oxford’s executive director, adding that “planning ahead is a good step” for game-weekend visitors. She advises booking hotel accommodations directly–the Graduate by Hilton Oxford and The Oliver Hotel are standouts–and making restaurant reservations.
Best way to spend game weekend in Oxford
The best way to start a game weekend is a leisurely stroll to see Oxford’s grand front porches festooned with the university’s official colors– navy and powder blues, red, and white–and The Square’s historic 19th-century commercial buildings.
Many are marked by brick facades, large glass storefronts, and second-story balconies. Stop in The Blind Pig Pub for perfectly crisp chips and in Katherine Beck for buttons emblazoned with Ole Miss imagery, a staple of game day outfits.
Men’s and women’s specialty attire shop Hinton & Hinton–The New York Times named it one of the country’s 50 best clothing stores in 2025–is worth a visit for a personalized shopping experience and the chance to check out at a massive antique English bar.
Game day commences in The Grove, a 10-acre spot in the heart of campus. Any other day of the week, it’s a serene tree-filled space. Red and blue trash cans are set out on Friday mornings; by Saturday mornings, it’s been transformed into a sea of blue, red, and white tents.
Each is elaborately decorated with flags and hand-painted banners, floral arrangements, and even chandeliers. Linen-covered tables hold serving trays full of fried chicken and catfish from Old Taylor Grocery, another Michelin Guide-recommended restaurant. No tailgate spread is complete without its signature dipping sauces and its Taylor Caviar dip, a spin on cowboy caviar.
“It’s not a picnic; it’s an event,” says Ferris, who urges visitors to see The Grove before the tents go up and to experience The Walk of Champions (that’s when the football team makes its way from the Student Union toward Vaught-Hemingway Stadium about two hours before kickoff). “You have to see it to understand it.”
A Greeting, Cheer, and Rallying Cry
Visiting Oxford comes with hearing “Hotty Toddy!” repeatedly. The spirited phrase serves as a signature of Ole Miss’ identity and gameday culture. As part of a call-and-response chant, the phrase–in a different format—dates to 1926, according to the university’s online explanation, What is Hotty Toddy?
“’Hotty Toddy!’ is used in our game-day chant, and as a greeting to other Rebels,” says Campbell Lee, a Greenville native in her junior year as an integrated marketing and communications major. “If I’m in the airport, and I see someone in an Ole Miss shirt, I’ll say ‘Hotty Toddy!’ and they’ll say it back. It’s a great way for fans to say ‘Go Ole Miss’ without explicitly saying that.”
