For the non-alums (and the alums who never come back to UM), do yourself a favor and take a walk around the campus one of these days, particularly the area where this cookout was held (Lakeside Village).
The UM coaches did a BRILLIANT job of picking the new dorm area to hold this event. During the 2020 season, I took my nieces (high school age) to see the campus and they were blown away by the new dorm next to Eaton. I too was amazed at how much has changed, and you can't get a better sense of that than when you stand in between Eaton Residential College (built in the 1950s) and the Lakeside Village. It is truly stunning.
While I have fond memories of Eaton and thought it was the best place to live on campus (at the time), the Lakeside Village is amazing, huge, and perfectly situated. For the student-athletes, they have short (and relatively equal length) walks to the football facilities and the classroom buildings. They have a great view of the lake and the new bridge to the University Center. The Lakeside Village is (mostly) elevated, and the ground-level area is a mixture of sand volleyball courts, covered picnic tables, artwork, and seating areas.
UM has been upgrading the football facilities for a few years, but I think this is the first time that large groups of recruits have had a chance to see the Lakeside Village on either an official or unofficial visit. I know the board has mentioned this a few times in the past, but I definitely can see that this is going to have a huge impact on recruiting going forward. Good lord, for 40 years, we've shown recruits "the apartment area" (in the old days) or Towers/Eaton/Mahoney-Pearson. Now they are right back in the same area where the football players lived in the 1980s, but in a brand new palatial building. I hope that the football players still get issued all those old 305-284-XXXX phone numbers, so that the football alums can call these kids before games and get them pumped up.
Go Canes!