There was a time when training camp meant leaving Foxborough for a month, moving into college dormitories and practicing before a crowd that could be counted without much difficulty.
For Andre Tippett, the modern training camp crowd of 10,000 people would have sounded impossible.
“I would have probably told you that you’re crazy. No way that would happen,” Tippett told ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer spent his entire career with the New England Patriots from 1982 through 1993, when the franchise still held training camp at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
The five-time Pro Bowler spent 12 seasons attacking quarterbacks for New England, finishing with a franchise-record 100 sacks and earning induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
His career unfolded before the Patriots became an annual championship contender and before training camp developed into one of New England’s major summer attractions.
Tippett Watched Patriots Camp Enter New Era
CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 6: Linebacker Andre Tippett #56 of the New England Patriots looks on from the field during a game against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on October 6, 1985 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns defeated the Patriots 24-20. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
The Patriots held camp at Bryant from 1976 through 2002, creating a summer routine that required players, coaches and staff members to relocate from Foxborough.
The arrangement had its own sense of tradition, although it lacked the facilities and convenience available at the team’s permanent home.
When Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the organization eventually decided it no longer made sense to move its football operation each summer.
The Patriots shifted training camp to Foxborough in 2003, giving players access to the team’s weight room, training areas and video equipment.
The move also created an easier experience for fans.
Instead of traveling to a college campus in Rhode Island, supporters could visit the same complex where the Patriots played their home games.
Tippett has watched that transformation from inside the organization.
He has remained with the Patriots since his playing career ended and currently serves as the team’s executive director of community affairs.
Patriots Training Camp Became a Tradition
GettyOffensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and quarterback Drake Maye of the New England Patriots at training camp
The 2026 camp will begin with veterans reporting Friday, July 24.
The first public practice is scheduled for July 25 at 10:30 a.m., with free parking and admission on the fields behind Gillette Stadium.
It marks the franchise’s 24th consecutive camp in Foxborough.
Tippett remembers when the people standing behind the ropes represented a relatively small group of dedicated supporters.
Now, children arrive with parents who may have attended camp themselves decades earlier. Some fans make their first visit, while others build vacations around the annual event.
“The crowds have been unbelievable,” Tippett told Reiss.
New England’s championship years helped turn the Patriots into one of the region’s defining institutions, but training camp offers a rare type of connection.
Tickets are unnecessary, the players can be only several yards away and families can spend a summer morning watching the season take shape.
Tippett once helped establish the franchise’s identity on the field.
More than three decades after his final season, the crowds arriving in Foxborough show how far that identity has traveled.
Patriots Training Camp’s Crowd Stuns Pro Football Hall of Famer