AMES, Iowa — Temperatures are expected to dip into the single digits during the Iowa State and Texas Tech Football game Saturday. Even on Friday the tailgate lot east of the stadium was busy with some early arrivers setting up campers in preparation for the last tailgate of the season.

“We are Top Level Suites, and we’re setting up for tailgating and it’s very cold out here!” said business owner, Brady Trent from Ankeny. “This is the coldest we’ve experienced, we have worked with the Kansas City Chiefs before during a blizzard. It was warmer, snowing, but warmer.”

For the Iowa State Marching Band there are a number of changes to keep band members warm.

“I really want to make sure that all the decisions that we make go to that lens of health and safety, so we’re doing things like getting rid of the uniforms,” said Christian Carichner, the ISU Cyclone Marching Band Director. “We have these huge gray overcoats we check out at the beginning of the year, all the members have those they’re allowed to wear whatever they need to underneath.”

The band has purchased feet and hand warmers and is working on serving hot chocolate to the band after their halftime show.

“We will shorten our practice, we will shorten some of the things around the parking lot, tailgating bands are not gonna be roaming around for this game,” said Carichner.

The cold weather can make it hard for instrumentalists too.

“Yeah cold weather will fight against us pretty hard,” said Carichner. “The piccolos, which are some of the small ones, because we’re blowing air in the instrument condensation happens usually at the end of the piccolos and they’ll freeze over.”

Also brass instruments get condensation, which can cause a valve to stick.

The ISU Marching Band has not practiced marching outdoors this week, due to the weather. Friday night before the last game of the season, the band is marching inside the Bergstrom Indoor Practice facility, the same one used by the Cyclone Football Team.