50 College Traditions From Around The Country

Every college has its own traditions that the student body keeps alive year after year. Some are well-known, while others remain a little more secret. That is until now.

Every year in March, the students at Cornell University celebrate Cornell Dragon Day, a college tradition that began sometime between 1897 and 1901. The truth is, no one is really sure of the exact time this tradition started, but it's been going strong for over one hundred and twenty years.

For the University of Central Florida's Spirit Splash, students rush to the Reflecting Pond on campus to celebrate the weekend of homecoming. The tradition began in 1995 when someone shoved the student body president into a pond, and now, students flock to the water to push each other in.

Held every February since 1973, THON Weekend is a 46-hour-long dance marathon where the participants are not allowed to sit or sleep. Not only that, but the students must also dance at the event.

Since 1966, the students at Lawrence University have held The Great Midwest Trivia Contest on the last weekend of January, but this isn't your regular trivia game. The event runs for 50 hours straight, beginning Friday and running until Sunday evening.

The Krispy Kreme Challenge at North Carolina State University is a fairly new tradition that began in 2004. Held every February, this tradition requires participants to do a lot of running while eating a lot of donuts.

This campus-wide scavenger hunt at the University of Chicago spans a four-day weekend, with the last day ending on Mother's Day. Participants must collect items from a list and donate at a blood drive, all while taking a possible 1,000-mile road trip and looking for the obscure items on the list.

Virginia Tech's student body was once made up entirely of Reserve Officers Training Corps cadets. Today, however, the students are a mix of civilians and cadets, and the rivalry runs deep between the groups.

Every September since 1898, the students at Hope College have participated in The Pull — a college tradition that makes all other tugs-of-war games look like child's play. Each team consists of 18 pullers along with 18 "moralers" — students responsible for boosting the morale of the pullers during the war.

Reed College's Renn Fayre is a crazy college tradition that began in the 1960s and runs either at the end of April or the beginning of May. This tradition celebrates the end of the school year and features food, live music, skate ramps, and a giant slide.

Since 1971, the students at Le Moyne College have celebrated Dolphy Day each spring, where the faculty surprises the students with a random day off. Every year, the date of Dolphy Day is a tightly kept secret that is revealed at 2 A.M. with a fireworks display.

Every April since 1951, Indiana University holds its Little 500 bike race — an event modeled after the Indy 500, and it is the largest collegiate bike race in the country. Teams consisting of four people each compete against one another in a race.

The students at Drake University participate in the Drake Relays, a renowned college tradition that has been a part of Drake's history since 1910. With more than 40,000 spectators every year, the Drake Relays are a race that features both college teams and world-class athletes.

For over 100 years, the students at Dartmouth have participated in the Dartmouth Winter Carnival, an event that features ski races, a polar bear plunge and swim, and an ice sculpture contest. There is even a human-dog sled race!

This college tradition involves two well-known Ivy League schools and their football teams. Every November since 1883, the Harvard-Yale Football Game has entertained students, staff, alumni, and college football fans with this annual game.

Carnegie Mellon University holds its annual Carnegie Mellon Sweepstakes every April, known as Buggy. This beloved college tradition takes place between various organizations throughout the campus, where each team constructs a torpedo-shaped vessel and pushes them down the course of a relay race.

Would you run a race in only your undergarments? Well, the students at Arizona State University do just that in this risque college tradition. At the ASU BB Run, over 15,000 students run across the Tempe campus in nothing but their bras and boxers on the last day of classes.

Named after baseball great Marv Rotblatt, Carleton College's Rotblatt game is a marathon of intramural softball. Rotblatt's annual event commences at sunrise on a spring afternoon, but it is difficult to predict when it will end.

Since 1990, the students at Ohio State University have gathered together to take the plunge into Mirror Lake in celebration of the Ohio State vs. Michigan football game. The Jump takes place at the end of November, and anyone in Ohio knows that it can get pretty cold there during that time of year.

Every April since 1958, the students at Purdue get together in friendly competition on the raceway. The Purdue Grand Prix is ​​a thrilling go-kart race held at the prestigious university. Any current student can participate, and an alumni competition is held every five years so that graduates can regain their glory.

Since 1957, the students at Rice University participate in the Beer Bike Relay every March. Students break up into teams, and one person from each team drinks beer or water (depending on age).

Started in 1981, Oozeball is the University of Connecticut's knockout-style muddy volleyball tournament. Nearly 400 teams of 6-8 students can compete every year, and there is a requirement that the tournament is "safe, fair, and inclusive."

Freshmen at both Emory campuses celebrate their first day of class with bottles of Coca-Cola (and again four years later at graduation). The toast always remains the same, "To our rebirth!" So why is Coca-Cola maintaining this student tradition? Simple.

Young college students about to go to college have an important decision to make, do they want to be closer to the mountains or the beach? Well, thanks to the annual tradition at Pomona College, students get the best of both worlds. In fact, the school formed a college tradition completely around this geographical dilemma.

Clemson University is another school that cherishes its sports traditions. Every Friday, faculty, students, staff, and alumni wear orange to celebrate school spirit. However, this Clemson tradition is not as unique as the one that requires $2 bills.

According to legend, Georgia Tech tried to reschedule its annual game against Clemson in 1977. Angry Clemson fans stamped orange tiger paws on $2 bills and spent them in Atlanta, illustrating the revenue the game generates for the city.

The Case Western Reserve campus moved from Hudson, Ohio, to Cleveland in 1910. To celebrate this big move, the school hosted a 26-mile relay race known today as the Hudson Relays, where each class teamed up.

Many college traditions are rooted in their athletic programs, and the Montana Gold Rush at Montana State University is no exception. The Gold Rush is a football tradition where fans descend to Bobcat Stadium dressed head-to-toe in gold (or, more often, yellow).

Few knew that when they chose Vassar College, they would soon be taking part in one of the school's infamous traditions, Serenading. This tradition, originally known as "step singing," was a ceremony in which young students sang songs to teach new students a school song.

In 1965, Doug Dickey, the University of Tennessee head coach, partnered with the band director, Dr. W.J. Julian, to create a unique tradition at the school. It involves the team's entry onto the field for the University of Tennessee football team.

At the Rose Parade in 1961, Richard Saukko rode in on the Traveler I, his white horse. He rode Traveler through the entire route of the parade that year. USC's Director of Special Events at the time, Bob Jani, discovered the horse and rider and convinced them to be the official mascot at the University of Southern California.

In a college tradition dating back to the 1960s, Clemson University in South Carolina once had a football coach named Frank Howard. He was presented with a gigantic piece of white flint his friend found in Death Valley, California.

Since the early 1980s, Yale University football fans have seen Handsome Dan on the sidelines of every game. This unique team member is a happy-go-lucky bulldog and is reportedly the first live mascot a team has ever had.

This college tradition is over 100 years old, beginning sometime in the 1920s. The Calling the Hogs at the University of Arkansas is exactly what it sounds like. At Razorback football games, the crowds are heard chanting, "Woo, pig! Sooie!"

The University of Central Florida opened a new stadium in 2007 called Spectrum Stadium, replacing the campus' former home in downtown Orlando. Along with the new digs, several new traditions have emerged, including what fans call "bounce houses."

One college tradition has gotten the attention of the Washington Post, which has dubbed Texas A&M's Midnight Yell "one of college football’s must-sees before dying." At midnight, the night before every home game, hundreds, if not thousands of fans gather at Kyle Field to sing and chant "Aggie War Hymn" by five "screaming leaders."

Since 1986, exits from the Notre Dame locker room have been hung with simple blue-and-yellow signs that read, "Play Like a Champion Today." Before each home game, every player entering the field presses it as a part of their good luck ritual.

Since 1964, the University of Oklahoma has held the Sooner Schooner, where the school's two horses, Sooner and Boomer, drive the Studebaker Conestoga wagon onto the field before every game and after every touchdown.

The college tradition at the University of Georgia is a relatively new one. The university's "Light Up the Sanford" began in 2015 as a social media campaign but has since become an integral part of the team's night games. Right before the start of the fourth quarter, approximately 93,000 fans turn on their cell phone flashlights and play “Krypton Fanfare,” leading to a dazzling light show.

According to students, alumni, staff, and faculty of Auburn University, the Tiger Walk is one of "the most imitated traditions in all of college sports.” Roughly two hours before every home game, the Auburn Tigers — with their mascot leading the way — walk down Donahue Dr. from their track and field facility to Jordan Hare Stadium.

The Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital was completed in 2017, launching a very special tradition that has been carrying on for nearly six years. You see, the hospital is located directly behind Kinnick Stadium, where the Hawkeyes play their home games.

Arguably the most traditional game in all of college football, the annual Army vs Navy game certainly has plenty of time-tested traditions to choose from. Among them, the most notable is the “March On.”

The University of Colorado is another school with a live mascot, and this one is quite the sight. Ralphie the Buffalo has five handlers who escort Ralphie across the field to open every home game at Folsom Field.

Almost every college in the United States has a homecoming tradition, but the University of Missouri is said to be the first to host an annual homecoming.

Georgia Tech's official mascot is a 1930 Ford Model A sports coupe. The Roadster, the Ramblin' Wreck, is painted the same yellow as the Yellow Jackets’ uniforms.

Until 2007, the Haka, the traditional New Zealand Maori shout, chant, and dance, was used as a pregame ritual by the University of Hawaii's Rainbow Warriors. After that, they switched to Ha'a, which is similar to a war cry, song, and dance but is native to Hawaii and speaks the Hawaiian language.

Here we are with yet another tradition that comes to us from the Harvard-Yale rivalry. From the late 1800s, until he died in 1949, Frederick Plummer attended 59 Harvard-Yale football games. Each time he would carry a little red flag to support Harvard and bid them good luck.

According to Mississippi legend, a Jersey cow wandered across the field during a football game in the mid-20th century, causing quite an uproar. Cowbells were used to distract the cow from the crowds so they could wrangle the beast.

Forget tailgating. Go sailgating. In one college tradition, that's exactly how students celebrate before a big home game. The University of Washington stadium's proximity to the water allows for this entirely unique pregame tradition.

While many professional and college teams have come under attack and pressured to change their racist or bigoted mascots in recent years, the Florida State Seminoles are one exception to the rule. The school's iconic Chief Osceola and horse Renegade are endorsed by the Florida Seminole Tribal Council.

Since 1972, the official West Virginia theme song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" has been played before each West Virginia University home game. They also play the song after home wins, and fans participate by remaining at the stadium and singing along to the tradition.