College students don’t like to wake up early. And by early, we’re talking about any time with an a.m. behind it.

So when I arrived on FGCU’s campus at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday and witnessed a line of several hundred students stretching from inside the Cohen Center, past the bookstore and out the door, I knew something was up. It must be free food, I thought. There indeed was orange juice and bagels, but breakfast wasn’t what prompted students to start lining up at 6:45 a.m.

Tickets for Nest Fest, an annual concert, were going on sale that morning, and students had first dibs on floor seats. The featured artist is Wiz Khalifa, a Pittsburgh-based rapper whose popularity surged in 2011 as he won BET’s best new artist award. His hits include “Roll Up,” “No Sleep” and “Black and Yellow,” which hit No. 1 on the charts.

The concert is April 13 at Germain Arena, and also features Sam Adams, Spacesuit Junkies and Chaysen. Tickets are $15 for students, and if it’s not sold out by Feb. 20, the public can snag seats for $30.

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College fanatics in need of memorabilia to fill their “man caves” need only look as far as the Internet. Everything is for sale somewhere in cyberspace.

On Wednesday, a quick search on eBay turned up 25,870 items using “Florida Gators” in the search field, 13,487 items with “Miami Hurricanes” and 9,621 using “Florida State Seminoles.” Typing “FGCU,” however, resulted in just 202 hits, 200 of which featured parts for Toyota forklifts, which use FGCU in model numbers.

Deep within that list you’ll find a blue FGCU T-shirt (used) for $9.99 and a paperweight for $19.99. If that’s not satisfactory, searching under the full “Florida Gulf Coast University” name turns up 36 results, real ones this time.

In the odd chance you’re search for forklift parts, though, prices for various FGCU model numbers start at $7.99 for a replacement manual to $799 for a new hydraulic pump.

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In sports, home field advantage usually is worth a few points. Fans will a team to victory by intimidating opponents and pumping up their squad’s adrenaline. It makes you jump an inch or two higher, or sprint down the court a hair faster.

Home court advantage clearly was evident Nov. 19 at Alico Arena when FGCU’s women’s basketball team played Michigan State. The crowd, 3,108-strong, grew louder and louder as the clock ticked down. A campus police officer even told one student to stop screaming at Michigan State’s bench during timeouts because it was distracting and annoying (which, I believe, was the point). The Eagles beat the Spartans 59-58.

Six days later, on Nov. 25, FGCU’s women took on Richmond, a much smaller school without a local alumni base and lacking the basketball pedigree of a Big 10 super-power. FGCU won 81-67 before 1,123 fans.  Next up was Webber International, a game that attracted just 902 fans. The contest was over before it started, with FGCU winning 106-27.

We’ve all seen photos of arenas jam-packed with screaming hoops fans, cheerleaders pumping up the crowd and athletes paying homage to the student section. I snapped the photo below just prior to tipoff at the FGCU-Richmond game. The slogan right behind the student section of Alico Arena is “Protect the Nest.” It looked more like an empty nest. I guess that’s what happens when a game is held on Black Friday, during a holiday weekend, when classes are not in session.

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What’s the most popular major at Florida Gulf Coast University? That’s easy to find. Campus administration maintains a list that’s updated daily, allowing the university to hire additional faculty for academic programs showing steady growth or consider options for majors with low enrollment.

Before I get into the data, though, let’s look at the process of major selection. Incoming freshmen decide what they want to be when they grow up (let’s say, a stock broker), then pick a corresponding major (finance sounds good). They take general education courses and some prerequisites for a few semesters before entering the meat and potatoes of their degree program. Then they graduate, line up a dream job and live happily ever after.

One in 13 FGCU students shares the same major, one that has to frighten their parents, advisers, university officials and legislators. So what’s the most popular major?

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When FGCU President Wilson Bradshaw was starting to negotiate his contract in 2007, one of his first demands was that he drive a hybrid vehicle. It was written into his contract that the FGCU Foundation would provide a vehicle, the first of which was a Toyota Highlander hybrid courtesy of Fort Myers Toyota.

Times and technology have changed, and so has the dealer. Estero Bay Chevrolet now supplies the presidential vehicle, which had been a Chevy Tahoe hybrid until Bradshaw downsized last month to a Chevy Volt. To accommodate the electric-gas vehicle, FGCU solicited a donation from GE, which provided a full pedestal charging station valued at $6,250. Physical plant staff then ran an underground power line to the charging station, which sits adjacent to Bradshaw’s reserved parking space.

And viola! Bradshaw drives to and from campus without using any gasoline. The Volt gets up to 35 miles on a full charge, so on many days, Bradshaw never taps into the gas tank.

There is one issue, though.

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When FGCU vice president Joe Shepard left this summer for the presidency at Western New Mexico University, he packed up the house and prepared for a 2,000-mile, nearly cross country move.

But he forgot to pack something. Rather, someone — Isaac Brundage.

Brundage, FGCU’s director of community outreach, just accepted a position as WNMU’s vice president of student affairs and enrollment management.

“He is one of the best in the business and I look forward to his leadership helping to transform our university,” said Shepard, whose inauguration was Oct. 7.

At FGCU, Brundage also served as ombudsman, assistant to the president and College Reach Out Program coordinator. He also earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from FGCU.

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