MIAMI (CBS4) - It was a mix of tailgates up or down for some football fans Saturday after new rules regarding pre-game parties went into effect at Sun Life Stadium.

"If it keeps up, they can have my season tickets," said one avid football fan, Gary Kirton, who has been buying season tickets for a quarter century.

"We brought in 4 cars together and they separated us," Kirton said. "They said two one way and two the other."

Some fans found out about the new rules before the University of Miami/North Carolina game Oct. 23.

Those rule changes include directional parking instead of free-form for early arrivals intent on tailgate parties, that will no longer be allowed.

Authorities are encouraging tailgaiters to arrive together in order to be able to park together for the party, but that did not work out for Kirton.

Some, however, like UM student Tom Cerra said some kind of change was needed.

"The parking has been horrendous getting in and getting out," Cerra said.

The issue came to a head during October 9th's big matchup between the 'Canes and Florida State University.

"We had a lot of traffic delays and people having issues getting into the stadium and in addition to that we had a lot of unruly behavior inside the stadium," said UM assistant athletic director Erik Book, "The police were overwhelmed that day."

So what are these big 'game day enhancements'?

First of all, if you plan to tailgate with your friends, it's going to take some planning.

In the past fans could park anywhere they wanted to for the first hour after the gates opened. University officials said they made the change to directional parking because in the past open parking created several safety issues and made vehicle movement difficult for the majority of fans who arrive in the three-hour time-frame immediately prior to kickoff.

From now on groups of fans that want to tailgate together will need to enter as a caravan of cars or plan to arrive at the stadium at the same time.

Students like Cesar Gomez, who like to tailgate with his friends, don't like the new rules.

"Usually I have to find my way to my friends, we always park in West 22 it's like a tradition for us," Gomez said. "So for us to follow a caravan and them tell us where to park, it's probably not going to work too well."

The good news is that the parking lot will now be open for five hours before the kick off.

To let fans driving to the game know what kind of traffic conditions to expect, UM, Sun Life Stadium and security posted updates on the turnpike's electronic signs, temporary roadside signs and 560 WQAM. As parking lots filed and congestion areas developed on the streets leading into the stadium, WQAM alerted fans to alternate routes.

There also was an increase in security staff, law enforcement and university personnel monitoring game day atmosphere. Anyone who encountered a problem at the game was urged to contact a security officer or send a text to 41513, type the word FAN followed by a space and your explanation of the situation.