The most recent event, which is always held the day before a home game at USA, was held on Sept.23 before the Jags played the University of Idaho.
Jagfeast is an all-day tailgate party held in the USA College of Medicine Business Office breakroom. Food is served at 7:45 a.m. and continues through a potluck lunch ending at 2:30 p.m.
Sue Reinhardt, faculty resource specialist at the USA College of Medicine Business Office and Susan Sansing, assistant dean of finance and administration at the USA College of Medicine, lead efforts to coordinate the events every year.
Both women are proud USA employees with a strong connection to the school and community.
Reinhardt has worked for USA for 22 years. Her two children attend USA and will both graduate in May. Sports and band have an important place in their family as her daughter Rebecca is a music education major who plays in the Jaguar Marching Band and her son David is a javelin thrower for the USA track team.
Sansing has worked for USA since 1991. Her husband and daughter are both alumni and her son is in his first year at South in the Jaguar Marching Band. The entire family feels strongly about the sense of family and community the school has given them.
The office’s Jagfeast started during the beginning of the football program at USA in 2009 and has been popular every year since. Both women view the events as a wonderful way to boost morale in the office and to show students and the team that they are supportive of the Jags.
As the safety coordinator of the building, Reinhardt stays in contact with everyone in the building on a regular basis and said it was a natural fit for her to coordinate her efforts into the tailgate events. She said she enjoys cheering on the Jags and coordinating the tailgate because she feels like it brings her closer to coworkers.
“Since we spend so much of our lives at work, it’s nice to take a little time to share stories, recipes and a few laughs,” Reinhardt said.
Sansing said cheering on the Jags is one of those moments when everyone is focused on the same purpose and outcome, which brings everyone together. She said she loves the Jags because it is a young program and the majority of fans have been cheering on the team together since the beginning.
Employees decorate the hallways with posters and banners painted with Jag colors and messages of school spirit. Breakfast is a popular affair, with Belgian waffles being made by David Wiik, radiation safety officer for the College of Medicine, and bacon-wrapped conecuh sausage with a brown sugar topping prepared by Reinhardt.
“Our Jagfeast would not be complete without these two staples,” Reinhardt said.
Reinhardt and Sansing hope to continue the tradition of Jagfeast for many years to come.
“As long as there is football at USA and there are people enthusiastic about participating in Jagfeast, we plan to continue our tradition,” Reinhardt said.
Jagfeast Bacon-Wrapped Conecuh Sausage
1lb conecuh sausage
1lb bacon
A few handfuls of brown sugar
Cut a pound of bacon in half to make short strips. Cut the conecuh sausage into bite-sized pieces (as wide as the bacon). Wrap the bacon around each conecuh sausage piece and place in a glass baking dish. Generously sprinkle brown sugar on each piece. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour until golden brown and caramelized. Reinhardt advises transfering the cooked pieces to a crock pot to keep warm. She then sprinkles them again with brown sugar for an extra-sugary crunch.