As one of the few here that will admit to enjoying alcoholic beverages, I'll weigh in.

Alcohol isn't necessary--but it is a cultural thing. Alcohol relaxes people and it's always fun to share a drink with friends, which is why the UGA/UF game in Jacksonville is known as "world's largest outdoor cocktail party." But I can have fun with friends without a drink.

In Athens, there are spots all over campus where people can set up BBQs, sunshades, corn hole tournaments... whatever. Gameday is an event that starts well before kickoff and continues long after the final whistle. The university encourages people having fun and opens up lots of spaces for it.

People who tailgate are there to have fun. People BBQ (not hamburgers--real BBQ that takes hours), make big batches of Brunswick Stew or gumbo, have coolers full of beer, or cocktails and lots of lawn games going on. I can walk around Samford Stadium (and the UGA campus) and total strangers will invite me to share in food, drink, and games. I'm an introvert, but the environment on gameday encourages me to enjoy meeting people and having a good time together for no other reason than a shared love of Georgia football (Go Dawgs!).

Tailgating at BYU just isn't the same. BYU puts too many rules on fans and restricts tailgating to just a few areas and specific times. People don't seem as friendly--I don't walk through BYU tailgating lots expecting everyone to welcome me to their area and offer me food and drink. I don't know why this is, but at BYU tailgates they don't seem to be welcoming of people they don't know. They could happily share a diet Coke or whatever they enjoy drinking, but they don't--it's weird at BYU it's almost like people are leery of "stranger danger."

BYU has some of the most invested fans in college football. Tailgating could be great--"Saturday in the Rockies" could be as much fun as "Saturday Down South" even without alcohol. But a cultural change will take a while and the support of BYU administration.