Dave Sproull is the definition of a Hawkeye fan.

A season-ticket holder since 1972, Sproull and wife Julie now drive an hour and 15 minutes from Winthrop, Iowa, to Iowa City every home game to participate in the football madness.

The Sproulls, like many other longtime fans, have a game-day ritual. For the past 10 years, the pair has met six other Hawkeye enthusiasts at a white house at 4 Valley Ave., where UI senior Tanner Rozinek and four roommates rent out their yard to dozens of tailgaters.

“The spot was just handy,” Sproull said, noting the ability for all of the friends to park together.

Around 18 parking spots are available on the house’s flattened grass, perfect for setting up all of the tailgating essentials. The UI senior is one of a number of Iowa City residents who offer up space for football fans to park and party before home games.

Before noon on Sept. 19, the roommates stood in the back of the house, sipping on black-and-gold Budweiser “fan cans” and red plastic cups.

“They usually keep to themselves,” Rozinek said about the tailgaters encircling his house, although he recalled playing bean bags with the out-of-towners one Saturday morning.

Just two hours until game time, Rozinek said he expected a few more regulars.

“I know a few guys who are not here yet,” the engineering major said. He doesn’t know the people who park at his house by name, but rather by their vehicles.

Wearing a black Hawkeye football T-shirt, Rozinek’s roommate, Kyle Collins, said he and his four roommates charge $25 per spot each game in a verbal contract with tailgaters.

Renting out parking spots on Saturday tailgates makes paying his monthly rent of $380 much easier, Collins said, and the five roommates split their typical season profit of approximately $2,000 evenly.

While most spots are paid in full at the beginning of the season, some get sold on the day of the game, Collins said.

“Two people came [Saturday],” Collins said. “We sold [the spot] to them just for that game.”

Part of what makes renting out parking spots an easy job is that the duties are minimal. The guests are responsible when it comes to cleaning up after themselves, Rozinek said.

“Only problems we’ve ever had was someone takes someone else’s spot,” he said.

In those cases, “we rearrange,” Rozinek said.

Both Rozinek and Collins credit their understanding landlords for the thriving tailgating business.

“Our landlords [are] really nice,” Rozinek said. “They actually let us keep the money.”

And this is not the first time the residents have made a profit from tailgaters, Collins said. This is the second year that they have rented out their yard.

UI junior Stacey Hamilton and her family also rent out their property at 903 Melrose Ave. for game days.

The family bought the house to have their own tailgating spot close to Kinnick for football games, Hamilton said. And now they make a profit by renting around 15 spots out for the football season.

“[My dad] charges $315 upfront, and it’s the same people all season,” Hamilton said. Most tailgaters are her father’s friends from work, she added.

Back at Sproull’s tailgating spot, the UI graduate says he still lives for football Saturdays in Iowa City.

The group of wives usually get together the week before to plan what food to bring, he said eyeing the women nibbling on chips and an assortment of dips set out on a custom made black-and-gold picnic table.

The group typically sips cocktails and munches on brats until about 15 minutes before kickoff, when they start the voyage to Kinnick.

“We have a good time,” Sproull said.