What makes college football special? Its traditions. And the best ones take place across the country. Our ranking of the 15 best.
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College football Saturdays across the country have their own style and experiences that make the sport unique. These gameday traditions are forged over time and create a legacy for those who celebrate them.
Many are part of the pregame festivities – whether it’s tailgating or when the teams take the field. Others are celebrated right before kickoff or during the game. And one of the most famous waits until the game is over. All are special and celebrated by their respective schools. They have become part of the tapestry of the sport that even casual observers look forward to.
Here are the 15 best traditions, ranked by USA TODAY Sports’ college team, in alphabetical order:
Army-Navy
Finish first, sing last – From the arrival of the Corps and the Brigade to the flyovers to the prisoner exchange, the annual Army-Navy showdown can be considered the most tradition rich contest in college football. But perhaps the most poignant of them comes at the conclusion when the two sides come together to sing each service academy’s beautiful alma maters, the song simply known as “Alma Mater” for West Point and “Navy Blue and Gold” for the Midshipmen. The goal, of course, is to sing second, as the winning team’s song is performed last.
Auburn
War Eagle – It’s a chant and not the school’s nickname, but when the cheer is augmented by the pregame arrival of an eagle swooping over Jordan-Hare Stadium, things understandably get noisy on the plains. The current bird, War Eagle VIII, is a resident of the Auburn Raptor Center.
Clemson
Howard’s Rock – As the story goes, legendary Tigers’ coach Frank Howard was once given a rock picked up by a friend from the original Death Valley in California. The stone is now mounted on a hill just outside the stadium, also known as Death Valley, and is rubbed by every Tigers’ player for good luck before the team runs down the hill and enters to raucous cheers.
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Colorado
Running with Ralphie − On-field success comes and goes for Colorado. Win or lose, though, the Buffaloes have the best live mascot in the country and one of the best traditions in Ralphie the Buffalo’s pregame run. Ralphie − a female bison, not a buffalo − will be led by as many as five handlers in a horseshoe pattern around the field, reaching speeds as high as 25 miles per hour. (Told once that Ralphie didn’t look to be running quickly, former Colorado sports information director David Plati responded, “Look at the humans.”) The most successful mascot has been Ralphie III, who reigned from Sept. 26, 1987, to Nov. 28, 1997. Colorado went 55-16-2 in games when she ran, including a 48-12-2 mark at home. The Buffaloes are 6-18 since the debut of Nebraska-born Ralphie VI on Sept. 1, 2021.
Florida State
Planting the spear – This pregame opening is hard to top. The sight of Chief Osceola riding Renegade to the 50-yard line and planting a flaming spear into the Doak Campbell Stadium turf is guaranteed to fire up the crowd in Tallahassee. The practice came under fire for a time, but the ceremony has the endorsement and participation of the Seminole Nation.
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Iowa
The Hawkeye Wave ― This tradition debuted in 2017 following the opening of the university’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital, which overlooks Kinnick Stadium. At the end of the first quarter, fans turn and wave to the pediatric-care patients and families watching the game from the hospital’s upper floors. The top floor hosts game-day parties in what the hospital call its “Press Box.”
Michigan
“Go Blue” banner ― Michigan’s most impressive football tradition is owning the most wins in FBS history. In terms of a memorable gameday tradition, the Wolverines will charge out of the tunnel leading from the locker room and run onto the field under a “Go Blue” banner. Sponsored by the school’s alumni association, the practice dates to 1962. The banner has been stolen twice but “no one has been able to take away the fighting spirit of the club or the Wolverines,” according to the university.
Mississippi
The Grove – When it comes to tailgating in style, the Grove in Oxford is a southern tradition wrapped in old world charm. But make no mistake – the fancy dress and formal tableware does not mean the tents aren’t festive in the 10-acre plot in the middle of campus that is a flurry of activity on football Saturdays. Tens of thousands gather under the shade of oak trees to eat and drink and play before watching the Rebels, who also walk through area on their way to the stadium.
Ohio State
Dotting the “i” ― Performed to the tune of Robert Planquette’s “Le Régiment de Sambre et Meuse,” the school marching band’s iconic Script Ohio formation is capped with a senior sousaphone player strutting to the dot above the “i” in “Ohio” and taking a deep bow to both sides of the stadium. The honored assignment has only been granted to a handful of non-band members, including John Glenn, Jack Nicklaus and Bob Hope.
Penn State
The White Out game ― Every season since 2004, Penn State has designated one home matchup as the annual “White Out” game, where all fans are asked to dress in white. While they’ve gone 10-8 in these games, the matchup is almost always reserved for the biggest home game on the Nittany Lions’ schedule; only four White Out opponents have been unranked when arriving in Happy Valley.
Oklahoma
The Sooner Schooner — The replica of the Studebaker Conestoga wagon that is the symbol of the University of Oklahoma is one of the best-known images in college sports. Powered by two ponies – Boomer and Sooner – the wagon first appeared at a football game in 1964. It rides on the field after scores, taking a circuitous route from one of the tunnels and back. Most of the time, the celebration goes swimmingly, but there have been a couple of instances where it has broken down and also famously drew a penalty for riding on the field too early in the Orange Bowl in 1985.
Southern California
Traveler – Like so many other historically dominant programs, USC has no shortage of memorable traditions. One that could work here is the two-finger salute with roots in the original Trojans, who according to Homer would cut off the first two fingers of their defeated enemies’ right hands to prevent them from holding a sword. But let’s go with Traveler, the noble white steed that has galloped to the sounds of “Conquest” at USC home games since 1961. In 2010, the school built a Traveler statue across from the famous Tommy Trojan in the heart of campus.
Tennessee
The Vol Navy – There’s tailgating at nearly every stadium, of course, but there aren’t many where it is commonplace to arrive by boat. Neyland Stadium’s location near the bank of the Tennessee River creates one of the sport’s more unique pregame atmospheres. The sailgating, which recently passed its 60th anniversary, was made popular when Volunteer announcer George Mooney started traveling to games by boat to avoid traffic. Dock space had to be built out to accomodate the growing interest that now includes approximately 350 vessels on Saturdays.
Texas A&M
The Midnight Yell – Nothing like a group primal scream at the witching hour before a football Saturday to fire up the faithful in College Station. Actually, there’s a little more to it than that. The yell leaders, elected by the Aggies’ student body, lead the band and fans in what amounts to a late-night pep rally at Kyle Field. No worries though – the kids always seem to have plenty of energy left for Saturday.
Virginia Tech
Enter Sandman – The Hokies had been making their entrance to Metallica’s hard-rock classic since 2000. But the importance of the tradition was driven home in 2021, when Virginia Tech hosted one of the first nationally televised games with a full stadium after the pandemic. The roar from the crowd actually registered on the seismograph in the school’s geology department, an earthshaking confirmation that college football was really and truly back.
