It can be easily said that sports, and particularly football, occupy a role at the center of daily life in many college towns across the country. Every weekend in the fall, college towns plan for an influx of visitors, more than doubling their population, which creates a unique set of challenges. Join ELGL and ITGA this fall for a special GovLove podcast series where we go inside college towns across the country and learn how they collaborate with universities to prepare, control and quickly recover from welcoming so many people into their community. We'll dive into topics on trash pickup, security, budget implications, traffic operations, mass transit, economic impact and so much more. ELGL

Loyola University New Orleans, one of the city's top universities and largest employers, ranks No. 1 in the nation for "Town-Gown Relations," according to the Princeton Review. Loyola also appears in the nation's Top 20 lists for culturally inclusivity and best quality of life, a measure of how happy students are with their lives outside the classroom. Incoming Loyola University New Orleans President Tania Tetlow said, "For more than 100 years, Loyola has enjoyed strong relationships between our city and campus community, as well as a robust alumni network. Key to the strength of our community ties is our common pursuit of Jesuit values, including excellence in all endeavors and service to others." Loyola University New Orleans

The University held its annual Being Engaged and Responsible walk to welcome students emerging from a summer's academic hibernation on Tuesday. The BEAR Walk was an opportunity for students, faculty and Ithacans to meet and greet in the temporarily hospitable outdoors. The event was co-sponsored by the Cornell University Women's Ice Hockey Team, the City of Ithaca and the Mayor's Office, and several Student and Campus Life organizations. According to Julie Paige, director of Off Campus and Cooperative Living, the theme of this year's BEAR Walk was building community. Following speeches, the Women's Hockey Team and CUPD traveled door to door through Collegetown to converse with residents and hand out door tags with information on how to be a good neighbor.

The Cornell Daily Sun

Oklahoma State University and the Stillwater community are working together to crack down on underage drinking and substance abuse. The Payne County Substance Abuse Coalition has partnered with OSU Prevention Programs and local law enforcement for the past five years to help tackle and prevent alcohol and substance abuse that can often happen in college towns. Chuck Lester, who works for the OSU Prevention Program, led the press conference Tuesday to let students and community members know there will be a zero-tolerance policy for underage drinking and improper alcohol use. One of the goals of the coalition is to put an end to assault and driving under the influence. OColly.com

To celebrate 100 days until the start of the college football season, HERO Sports is counting down the Top 100 FBS College Football Towns in America. We will analyze the city, the program, the good and bad of the city as well as the bottom line. Many, many resources will refer to any number of college towns as vibrant. There is no other college town that better defines the word than Austin and more specifically 6th Street. There are hotels, bars, restaurants, art galleries and weird knick-knack stores that will foster an eclectic vibe that suits the city and its people. Come in October, and catch one of the most iconic musical weeks of your life at Austin City Limits. Anyone and everyone has played there. Hero Sports

College is an exciting time full of new faces, newfound freedom, and new expenses. While it's important to find a campus that gels with your personality, it's no secret a city's living cost-and a school's tuition-can end up making your decision for you. To get our rankings, we considered everything college students have to budget for, as well as things college students usually end up choosing to spend their spare change on. From happy hour to rent, we figured out how much it would cost to live in each city by crunching the numbers of seven different factors. We included the price of tuition in each town based on a twelve-credit-hour workload. Move.org