College football's best game day traditions

Sports

Good luck charms, bands, banners, chants and cheerleaders. Look around a college football game and almost anything can qualify as a tradition. Here are the AP's 12 best college football traditions:

The Associated Press has ranked it 12 best college football traditions. They include: RAMBLING WRECK OF GEORGIA TECH. The first mention of a Rambling Wreck was back in the 1920s. It was what members of the school newspaper called the 1914 Ford driven by one of the deans. In 1961, the school made it official, buying a 1930 Ford Cabriolet Sport Coupe for $1,000 from a pilot in Atlanta Packed with cheerleaders, the shiny gold antique leads the Yellow Jackets on the field these days.

MIAMI'S SMOKY ENTRANCE. The smoky entrance became a part of Miami football back in the 1950s when fire extinguishers were used to create the cloud. The effect stuck, and when the Hurricanes turned into the most dominant program in the college football in the 1980s, their sprint onto the field through the smoke suited the team perfectly. They took the field like a wrestler entering the ring and talked just about as much trash as anyone Vince McMahon ever employed.

TIGER WALK. Two hours before kickoff, the Auburn Tigers hoof it to Jordan-Hare Stadium from Sewell Hall down Donahue Drive, with thousands of fans lining the street to wish them luck. It started in the early 1960s, and now similar walks are done by other teams.

MISSISSIPPI STATE COWBELLS. Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss. at times it can be the loudest in the SEC when those cowbells start clanging. The tradition goes back to the 1940s and SEC opponents have been trying to get the bells banned for almost as long. The league finally implemented a rule prohibiting artificial noisemakers from games about 10 years ago.

HOWARD'S ROCK. A friend of Frank Howard's gave the Hall of Fame coach the big rock back in the early 1960s and the story goes he used it as a door stop for a while before a booster club member placed it at the top of the hill behind the east zone the Tigers run down to enter the stadium. The first time they ran past it before a game in 1966, they beat Virginia. The next season they started rubbing it for luck before running down the hill and the Tigers have been doing it ever since.

THE SOONER SCHOONER. When Oklahoma scores, matching white ponies named Boomer and Sooner take a victory lap pulling covered wagon dubbed the Sooner Schooner. It first appeared in 1964, became the school's official mascot in 1980 and it famously drew a delay of game penalty in the 1985 Orange Bowl that helped cost the Sooners three points in a 28-17 loss to Washington.

YELL PRACTICE. Most schools have pep rallies the night before games. At Texas A&M, it's yell practice. Yell Leaders are elected and use various hand signals that coincide with the different yells to guide the fans. Some yells praise. Some scorn. And at the end of their Friday night session, Aggies kiss their dates, also as practice for gameday. Every time A&M scores, Aggies are supposed to "mug down."

SCRIPT OHIO. At Ohio State it's simply called TBDBITL (The Best Damn Band in the Land), and it has been spelling out the script Ohio at football games since 1936. The big moment comes at the end when a sousaphone player dots the "i." Honorary i-dotters are rare and include Bob Hope, Woody Hayes and Jack Nicklaus.

USC SONG GIRLS. Not cheerleaders. Song Girls. The most famous cheer squad in college football was started in 1967 and are as synonymous with Southern California as Heisman Trophy-winning tailbacks. And the Song Girls never landed the Trojans on probation.

GO BLUE. The Bump Elliott years were not particularly good ones for the Wolverines, but he is credited with helping start one very cool tradition in 1962 when he allowed the Wolverines to take the field at the Big House running under a huge GO BLUE banner. It measures 40-feet long by 4-feet wide and the players touch it for luck as they pass by.

CAL'S TIGHTWAD HILL. Officially it's called Charter Hill and it lies on the east side of California Memorial Stadium. Golden Bears fans have been watching their team play for free there since the 1920s. In typical Berkeley fashion, visitors police themselves and are expected keep the place tidy. There is only one rule on tightwad hill: No red clothing. Rival Stanford wears red.

THE WORLD'S LARGEST DRUM. It takes about four band members to push around the carriage that holds Purdue's Big Bass Drum. The exact measurements are a secret, but it's about 10-feet tall and 4-feet wide. It debuted in 1921 and has been refurbished several times since.

1/12

The Associated Press has ranked it 12 best college football traditions. They include: RAMBLING WRECK OF GEORGIA TECH. The first mention of a Rambling Wreck was back in the 1920s. It was what members of the school newspaper called the 1914 Ford driven by one of the deans. In 1961, the school made it official, buying a 1930 Ford Cabriolet Sport Coupe for $1,000 from a pilot in Atlanta Packed with cheerleaders, the shiny gold antique leads the Yellow Jackets on the field these days.

Today's Gallery Headlines

Alerts

PHOTOS: An early look at CNN Center's redevelopment in downtown Atlanta

PHOTOS: Wayfair opens first Atlanta store

PHOTOS: Hawks defeat Celtics in key East battle

PHOTOS: 'No Kings' rally at Bishop Park in Athens, Ga.

PHOTOS: UGA Pro Day draws Falcons, others

PHOTOS: Magic night as Hawks continue winning streak

Photos: North Paulding girls defeat Grayson for a 6A basketball state championship

Photos: Wheeler defeats Pebblebook to claim 2026 state championship