Sporting Spartan logos, green and white stripes and blaring the MSU fight song, the Cheat to Win (CTWz) van drives into campus, making its way toward tailgate utopia.

Customized last summer, the CTWz's nine owners said the van was created to maximize the tailgating experience and embody the Spartan spirit.

A labor of love, the van took nearly four months to complete.

"We finally found a van in early spring that we could afford," said Brian Dennis, one of the van's co-owners. "We worked all summer on redoing it."

Originally, the modified Ford Econoline was filled with shelving and other necessities for a maintenance person. The CTWz team found little purpose in that

interior, and the van was gutted and remodeled to host a tailgate party.

"We took all the shelving out and put in bench seats and a table," Dennis said. "We also put in a cooler, dropped one of the gas tanks, put in a holding tank for a bathroom and put a flagpole on the top of it."

Among the van's features are an 8-foot inflatable Sparty, a stereo with a 250-watt amplifier and two shelf-mounted speakers for blasting the fight song.

After a short drive, the owners and their friends arrive at their destination, a favorite spot by the tennis courts.

"We get out there early to get a good spot," said Dennis, a no-preference junior. "We are out there by midnight before the kickoff."

Having appeared at every tailgate this year, the CTWz has drawn a following. Each time the van appears, a crowd of more than 100 people has been drawn to its Spartan aura.

"We always get people coming up and they tell us it is a good idea" Dennis said. "A lot of people saw what the van originally looked like and now they see what we have done to it."

Van co-owner Tom Hearn said the van's urinal is quite popular.

"Everyone wants to use the bathroom," the computer science junior said. "The guys who worked on the van get priority over everyone else for the bathroom."

Anticipating the need to keep refreshments cold, the van's owners built a cooler into the back that can hold up to 600 beverages.

"We have not had a game where it has not been finished," Hearn said. "The first game we had 400 cans, and the second game we had 600."

In addition to the modifications made inside the van, the hitch was rigged to function as a grill.

"We usually make hot dogs, burgers and steaks," Dennis said. "We do eggs and stuff like that in the morning for breakfast."

The van normally is equipped with a beer-pong table and Drinko board, but with the new tailgating policies, the CTWz crew has had to change the way they operate.

"We are going to have to leave some of the games home," said co-owner David Vivio, a building construction management junior. "We will still go to every home game this year. We are a little upset about it, but we still will have fun."

The group also is no longer able to stake out their spot nearly twelve hours before a kickoff.

Keith Williams, the executive director of the MSU Alumni Association, said tailgating rule changes will keep fans from overindulging.

"I think that the alumni will support the university taking action now instead of taking action later in response to a serious mishap," he said. "It has become a more serious health and safety issue."

With a positive attitude, the CTWz crew plans to continue having fun regardless of the new policies. It is this sense of whimsy and a long-standing tailgate history that inspired the "Cheat to Win" name of their van, which is monogrammed on the hood.

"There are a lot of stories behind the name," said co-owner Keith Ortman, a mechanical engineering junior. "One story involves some questionable ethics on the tailgate line. It is also a motto."

The CTWz crew said it makes special trips to attend away games.

"We are definitely taking it to the University of Michigan game," Hearn said.

Although displaying their Spartan spirit took time, effort and a substantial amount of money, Dennis said it was worth it.

"It is a lot of fun," he said. "It is what we look forward to."

To keep up with CTWz crew and see the adventures of the van, visit tailgate.dhs.org

Kris Turner can be reached at turne112@msu.edu.