The Drake family brought a new means of attention to their tailgate with the addition of a $10,000 purple TCU themed bus. Steve Drake, father of two TCU graduates, said the bus was a small investment in comparison to what it will bring for his family and friends on game days.

People stuck in game day traffic can see the bus in University Christian Church parking lot at the intersection of W. Cantey Street and University Drive.

Stephen Drake, a TCU alum who graduated in 2005, said he talked about getting a bus with his family for two years but finally purchased it off of Ebay from Ranger, Texas in May.

The bus features two flat screen plasma screen televisions on the inside, a personalized license plate that reads “FROGGR,” a sky deck, Texas and TCU flags and a customized TCU barbeque grill mounted on the back.

The former mechanical engineering major said the 20-year-old bus needed some mechanical work when he bought it and that he had done a lot of work on it personally this summer prior to the first home game against Grambling State.

The bus will have TCU and Horned Frog logo decals placed on the hood and sides of the bus at TCU’s next home game against Iowa State Oct. 6.

Stephen Drake said he decided to begin hosting a tailgate at TCU this year after graduating to keep connected to the TCU Community.

“It’s a nice way to reconnect with people I’ve graduated with that I haven’t seen in five or six years,” he said.

The Drake family talked about the possible development of a bus for two years during family gatherings, he said.

“I’ve been to a lot of tailgates before but since TCU joined the Big 12, I’ve noticed a difference because of the increased national audience and notoriety,” Stephen said.

Drake said he takes the bus to Gary Patterson’s Thursday night radio show at 6 p.m. on 92.1 FM The Hank to gain more attention to the bus and share barbeque with whoever wants to attend.

TCU 2001 graduate Heather Bocell and sister of Stephen Drake said the bus is great for any weather condition. For hot days, the inside of the bus has ventilation and for cold and windy days, the inside is a good place to bundle up and watch the game on the plasma TVs, she said.

Since graduating TCU in 2005, Stephen said he is impressed by the additions on campus as well as renovations to residence halls and facilities.