Well, Friday night works just fine for me...but then again, I work on campus, so it's a ten-minute walk from my building—or a two-minute drive from my lot—to our tailgate spot at Peters Parking Deck.
Speaking of which, I'd be willing to host a GTSwarm tailgate, with food and such. For those who have to come in from off-campus, that might alleviate some of the hassle; all you'd have to do is bring along beverages of choice.
@YJAlleyCat and I did this back in 2017 (?), and had a great time meeting those who were able to show up.
I'll also add that lots are usually open for parking 30 (or more) minutes earlier than the AA announces...so if they say 5:00, you should be fine if you show up around 4:30. This can help beat the on-campus traffic, at least. Also, looking at my calendar, I see that the 26th is actually the start of Exam Week, so campus lots are much less likely to be full late in the day; commuter students who do not have afternoon exams are likely to be off-campus well before rush hour.