Here are six of the best traditions you’ll find in college athletics:
Writing Ohio
“Script Ohio” is a long tradition of over 70 years at THE Ohio State University. During halftime, the OSU Marching band writes out “Ohio” on the field during a musical formation. The “dotting of the i” is done by the sousaphone player. It’s performed to the Robert Planquette march “Le Régiment de Sambre et Meuse”.
Wisconsin Jump Around
What’s better than college football and one of the main anthems of ’90s hip-hop? An amazing tradition with Wisconsin football and House of Pain’s “Jump Around”.
The 12th Man
E King. Gill is a former football player playing basketball at Texas A&M in the early 1920s. The Aggies were underdogs playing Centre College. They were the top-ranked team at the time. The Aggies ran out of reserves before the coach remembered a player, Gil, who they could use to stand on the sidelines for the team.
“I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I did not. I simply stood by in case my team needed me,” Gill said, according to Texas A&M University at Galveston.
The 12th man was born. It’s now a tradition that includes a pregame with a student-raised flag with the student body standing on the 12th Man.
Rock Chalk
The University of Kansas “Rock Chalk, Jayhawk” chant.
Army-Navy
Talk about a rivalry. So much so, when the Army and Navy teams face each other, oftentimes they’ll play at a neutral site.
As the competitiveness of college football rose over the years, the once nationally powered game got overshadowed, but when this game is on the schedule, you circle it.
It hosts many traditions as well.
Before the game, the Corps of Cadets and members of the community gather for a bonfire where they burn a large wooden ship in a figure of the Navy. Following the game, the teams sing for their alma maters, with the losing team singing first.
The Hawkeye Wave
By far the best (and most heartwarming) tradition in college sports is when the University of Iowa football players, fans, and those alike wave at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, which has the perfect view of the stadium.
