Six a.m. start time be damned.

Despite a university-set time and steady rain, Paternoville residents set up camp early, pitching nearly 100 tents by 5:45 this morning.

As the 6 a.m. deadline approached, students counted down in New Year's fashion. But the finish was anticlimactic, as most students had already set up their campsites.

Katie Stone (senior-human development and family studies) helped organize the arrival and said some tents were set up as early as 2:30 this morning. However, she said a police officer came by and asked students to take their tents down until 6 a.m.

While she said most students complied, a few tents remained.

Stone estimated that around 4 a.m. students began to set up their tents again for good.

Tyrone Parham, University Police assistant director, said police did ask students to take down their tents at one point, but said as the 6 a.m. deadline approached, rules were relaxed.

"It was pretty much close to 6 a.m., so it was in compliance pretty much at that point," he said.

While some students voiced concerns this week that the set arrival time may cause congestion and even violence, nothing of the sort happened. Stone attributed that to the fact that students filtered in slowly instead of waiting until 6 a.m.

"It wasn't just like six o'clock everybody was here," Stone said. "That was a bad idea. The university saying, 'Everybody, get here at 6,' was a bad idea. But because everybody came out in different periods, there was some structure."

To keep the process organized, Stone said campers had to sign in at a central tent, where they were assigned a camping spot. The system worked, as the tents were divided into a freshman/sophomore section and a junior/senior section.

And instead of conflict, many campers helped their fellow fans.

"People came up to us 'cause our tent was blowing away when it was windy and asked if we wanted caution tape to tie it up," Tommy Otterbine (senior-microbiology) said. "Everybody really helped everybody else out. It's awesome.

Campers didn't take long to start celebrating the beginning of Paternoville 2006, beating on trash cans and cheering. One student even celebrated her birthday at the camp, sharing birthday cookies with her friends.

Later in the day, several football players, including quarterback Anthony Morelli, center A.Q. Shipley and co-captain Levi Brown among others, visited the camp, signing autographs for their fans.

Students said they weren't worried about starting the festivities early.

"I was worried about showing up late because I knew people were going to be here real early," said Mike Elia (freshman-civil engineering), who said he has been looking forward to camping out since he arrived on campus this fall.

Campers seemed to adhere to the new regulations barring open flame and the use of non-battery operated electronic devices. Most said they only brought books, magazines and food to keep them occupied, leaving TVs at home.

All this week, students complained about the new regulations, saying they decreased the overall experience.

But once outside Beaver Stadium's Gate A, most students seemed focused on getting the most out of their two days.

"We're going to make the best of it no matter what," Otterbine said. "There's no use being pissed off about not getting to come out here on Monday."

Stone agreed.

"This is nuts," Stone said. "I don't think there's going to be any sleeping for three days."