MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. -- Thursday nights tend to be party nights around the tiny campus of Georgia College & State University. Few of the 6,000 students have Friday classes, and many of them go back to their parents' homes for the weekends.

Even though the legal age for drinking is 21, underage students also head for the half-dozen bars and clubs located within two blocks of the campus to listen to music and socialize. The establishments have bouncers who check identifications at the door, and wristbands are placed on those 21 and older so the bartenders know which customers can be served.

Capital City, the dance club where Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old GCSU student, is regarded by some students as one of the stricter enforcers.

No charges have been filed in the incident reported there, and Mr. Roethlisberger, 28, is cooperating with police, according to his agent. The incident marks the second time in nine months in which Mr. Roethlisberger has been accused of sexual assault.

"There's really only one nightclub, and that's Capital City," said GCSU sophomore Alex Gonglach, 19. "They have loud, hiphop music and flashing lights."

"We've been to them before because we're a part of Greek life and we have socials there," said Brenda Bryan, 20, who was walking on campus Saturday with fellow sophomore Meg Partin, 19. "Capital is more like a club. The others are more like bars."

Some of the other Milledgeville bars -- , The Brick and The Velvet Elvis -- were among the establishments Mr. Roethlisberger and some friends visited Thursday night before finishing the evening at Capital City. The group was believed to have visited Amici Italian Cafe, but the owner later said Mr. Roethlisberger was not there. Mr. Gonglach and three of his friends heard that the star NFL quarterback was hanging out in this town about 85 miles southeast of Atlanta, and they decided to try to catch up with him.

"I didn't believe it, so we figured we'd go down and try to see him," said sophomore Tyler Opraseuth, 19. "We were looking for him, but we never saw him."

But other students did find Mr. Roethlisberger, and they spent the evening crowding around him for photographs, autographs or just to shake his hand. Frank Pendergast, owner of The Brick, said Mr. Roethlisberger spent about two hours in his establishment and that the quarterback was friendly and polite.

Later, sometime between 2 and 2:30 a.m. Friday, a Milledgeville police officer on duty in the downtown area was told of the alleged sexual assault inside Capital City. Police said the alleged victim approached the officer, prompting investigators to interview her, Mr. Roethlisberger and everyone in their parties.

Caitlin Omen, 21, a junior, said she was at Capital City with five friends while Mr. Roethlisberger was there.

"But I didn't see anything," she said. "I had no idea who Ben Roethlisberger was. I've heard of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but I'm not a football fan. And I really had no interest in seeing him. No offense to him.

"There was a definite buzz about him. People were taking pictures with him and getting autographs. There was a big group around him."

Ms. Omen said she was at the club until 2 a.m., but never noticed a commotion or the coming and going of police. She didn't hear about the alleged incident until later Friday.

"A friend who doesn't go here called me and told me," she said. "So the word spread pretty quickly."

The story went from gossip to front-page national news when Milledgeville police Deputy Chief Richard Malone held a news conference Friday evening to confirm that there had been a report of a sexual assault and that Mr. Roethlisberger, who owns a home in the area, was the alleged "perpetrator."

Mr. Roethlisberger, who was questioned by police early Friday morning, was not held or arrested. He also has been accused of raping a Nevada resort hostess in his hotel room during a July 2008 golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.

In that case, however, the woman who accused him did not go to authorities. Instead, she sued Mr. Roethlisberger in July in the absence of any police report or physical evidence.

Mr. Roethlisberger and his legal team have emphatically denied the accusations in the Nevada case, but have not come out as strongly in the Georgia incident. The quarterback himself has not commented on the accusation, but his agent, Ryan Tollner, issued a statement Friday saying that Mr. Roethlisberger and his friends met a group of women and "mingled thoroughout the evening."

In the statement, Mr. Tollner said Mr. Roethlisberger had spoken with police and that the incident "appeared to be dismissed after a preliminary investigation [Friday] night." Mr. Tollner and Mr. Roethlisberger's attorneys could not be reached Saturday.

Deputy Chief Malone, however, indicated the case is active and that additional evidence is being collected. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is assisting the Milledgeville police, who on Saturday said they did not expect to release additional details about the case until at least Monday.

The prosecutor who will oversee the case declined to answer questions and would not elaborate or provide a timetable for the investigation.

"I've been made aware of the allegations but the investigation is not complete yet. We are waiting for the investigation to be completed," said Fred Bright, the head prosecutor for the eight-county Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit.

"We will do the right thing. Let us do the right thing," Mr. Bright said. "It is premature to say anything more."

Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten and President Art Rooney II also declined comment Saturday.

The alleged victim was treated and released at the Oconee Regional Medical Center in Milledgeville. On Saturday, people who know her said she is recovering and did not want to comment. Two friends who were with her at Capital City could not be reached.

Ms. Bryant and Ms. Partin said they did not know any of the women involved in the incident, but they said many students on campus were talking about it.

"Facebook has been buzzing about it," Ms. Bryant said.

"The thing is, Georgia College is not a party school," Ms. Partin said. "It's just college, it's normal. You're going to have people who like to go out and party. But it isn't any more than any other school."

Saturday was Springfest 2010 on the campus of GCSU, a day when incoming freshmen and their parents are welcomed to the small college. Orientation includes meetings with faculty members and advisers, selection of courses, tours, and presentations on housing and financial aid. Canopies provide shade for administrators sitting at folding tables while they discuss the liberal arts university's promise with visiting families.

All around this collegiate setting are red brick Colonial-style buildings -- administrative offices, classrooms and dormitories -- with towering white columns framing the entrances. Other campus buildings, such as the library, the auditorium and the student union, were built later.The incident involving Mr. Roethlisberger did not come up during Springfest, said one administrator who did not wish to be identified.

On the Front Campus lawn, students celebrated the day in typical small-college fashion, chasing Frisbees, napping under trees and listening to music.

Still, the talk of the allegations and Milledgeville's appearance in the national news was unnerving to some.

"I'm sort of in disbelief," said Ms. Partin. "I don't want to see Georgia College or Milledgeville [get] a bad rep, because we're a great school and this is a great town. Something like this is out of the ordinary. I wouldn't want anybody to think these things happen all the time here."

"I think it will blow over," said Ms. Omen. "This isn't what Milledgeville is going to be known for. Bad things can happen anywhere. [Mr. Roethlisberger] is an outsider coming in. But that doesn't make me more nervous about living in Milledgeville. We're all students here, and it's safe."

Mr. Gonglach was more cynical.

"It's the biggest thing in this town right now," he said while walking a block away from a massive ESPN truck parked outside Capital City. "Nothing ever happens here."

He and his friends said they could see themselves, years from now, speaking of where they went to college to someone who would be unlikely to know the school.

"And then I'd say, 'Remember that thing with Ben Roethlisberger?'" Mr. Gonglach said. "And they'll go, 'Oh, yeah!' "

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