COLUMBUS, Ohio — This football season, the big tailgaters will have to buy their spots in advance if they want to use one of the Ohio State campus parking lots on game days.

The university has begun selling reserved spaces for recreational vehicles on the athletics department's Web site (www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com).

Officials said in a news release Wednesday that the change to a reservation system and assigned places is meant to improve the availability of RV parking and cut down on congestion. They note that in past years, RV parking passes were sold first-come, first-serve on the day of the game, leading to long lines of the big vehicles waiting for the lots to open.

The reserved RV spots cost $90 per game. Last year, the tailgaters paid $50 to park at Ohio State.