Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe will be open from 1-6 p.m. for this Saturday’s football game against the UCLA Bruins. The shop will also have special hours for the remaining WSU home football games, Mom’s Weekend, and spring commencement.

Ferdinand’s manager Eric Needham said the business can get crazy during the football season, and they experience longer lines than most other times. There is a lot of prior planning involved in making sure everything runs smoothly, while maintaining interaction with their customers.

He said Ferdinand’s is a key part of the overall experience during football games.

“It’s a pre-football game attraction,” Needham said, “a go-to place.”

Needham said what is special about Ferdinand’s is that the products are made by the students. The business gets milk from the dairy farm at WSU, using it to make different items on the menu.

Ferdinand’s employee Taylor Ryland said she has worked at Ferdinand’s for a while and has seen the times during the football season that it has been busier than normal. Ryland said Ferdinand’s located near several tailgaters that will often want to grab a scoop of ice cream.

She and her coworkers bonded after such hectic days, she said, as they got through it together. She said Ferdinand’s brings fans together as well.

Ryland said she feels that Ferdinand’s different generations of Cougs, showing the strong sense of community and tradition present within WSU.

“On game day, you feel the spirit and energy of Cougar football season,” she said. “I think that it’s a tradition that a lot of [fans] have.”

She learned a lot from working at Ferdinand’s, Ryland said, most of it about their Cougar Gold cheese.

Needham said Cougar Gold is one of the ice cream shop’s top sellers during football season.