Coastal Carolina’s campus felt different this weekend – louder, brighter and fuller.
Families packed in for Fall Teal Nation Family Weekend, and for three straight days campus carried the energy of a homecoming.
Parents, siblings and alumni walked side by side with students, all sharing in the teal pride that makes Coastal feel like family.
Friday, Sept. 5, kicked things off with check-in, but the fun really started once the activities got rolling. Cornhole boards filled the lawn, grocery bingo brought out great laughs, and the family and alumni mixer kept conversations flowing late into the evening.
It wasn’t just small talk either, alumni were reminiscing about stories from their college days while new families got their first real taste of what CCU life is all about.
Saturday, Sept. 6, was a day to remember.
The morning started calm with yoga on the beach and a golf tournament, but the real action came later at the tailgate outside Brooks Stadium.
By mid-afternoon, the lot was buzzing. Tents lined the rows, grills filled the air with smoke, and teal flags waved above the crowd. Music blasted, footballs were tossed, and even a few dogs showed up rocking Chanticleer bandanas.
Everywhere you looked, it was teal. The kind of scene that makes one stop and think, “This is what Saturdays in the fall are all about.”
For parents like Keisha Sullivan, who came to see her son and also relive her own Coastal memories, the tailgate was special.
“I’m glad I was not only able to come see my son but also to be able to see how almost a day for him is on game day and to relive that is so much fun,” Sullivan said with a smile.
Her words echoed the feeling of so many parents who got to step into their student’s shoes for a day.
By 7:30 p.m., all that tailgate energy poured into Brooks Stadium.
Families joined students in the stands as Coastal faced Charleston Southern under the lights.
The stadium turned into a teal sea, chants rolled down from the student section, and parents cheered like they were back in college themselves.
Every big play brought a roar that shook the stands.
The game was the main event, but the atmosphere, fueled by Family Weekend, made it feel bigger than football.
Sunday, Sept. 7, closed the weekend with a mix of energy and emotion. Families joined one more Active Chants workout before heading to the first-generation student pinning ceremony.
The event honored those blazing a new trail in their families, and the room carried a powerful sense of pride that matched the entire weekend’s theme: Coastal is more than a school, it is a starting point for legacies.
Family Weekend was not just another date on the calendar. It was parents getting to see the late nights, the early mornings, the tailgate energy and the pride that comes with wearing teal.
Family Weekend serves as a reminder that behind every Chanticleer in the stands, there is a family cheering them on.
