There are so many questions to wonder about these days. Like, who was the first person brave enough to eat a chicken’s egg? Or why do some people think cilantro tastes like soap and others can’t get enough of it? How did certain colors come to represent the Volunteers, Paladins, Hokies, etc.? Or a burning question that we like to argue about, who thinks the college conference re-alignment is a good idea? And that question can lead to so many other questions. 

First Things First 

The tradition of having colors identified with schools goes back to England in the 1830s when the University of Cambridge chose to wear Cambridge blue when engaging in a boat race against the University of Oxford.  

For colleges and universities in the United States, most of them started choosing their “school colors” in the 1890s through the 1910s. The method of solidifying the colors took many avenues – some school colors grew out of identification with its sports teams while others were chosen because they looked good together and the student body voted to adopt them. Still others had a significance to the school.  

Interestingly, Penn State’s official colors for a while were dark pink and black. It’s true! One of the students responsible for choosing the colors said that they wanted something that would be bright and attractive, but since red and orange were already used by others, deep pink would work. The change over to navy and white colors is a bit muddled, but most stories indicate that the pink faded to white in the sun and the baseball team was made fun of for wearing pink and black. They discovered that pink was not a “fast” color and would fade over time, so in 1890, with the help of one of the students who had help choose the original colors, Penn State’s official colors became navy blue and white.  

The University of Tennessee gets its school colors from the American Daisy. UT Athletic Association President Charles Moore chose the colors because the campus was covered with them in 1889. The color combination was not always popular with students, and some teams, like the 1889 baseball team decided to wear black and red. Orange and white was even put to the debate test in 1894, but since no other proposed colors were satisfactory, the students returned to the orange and white.  

Today’s colors for Clemson University are Clemson Orange and Regalia (their name for purple), but they didn’t start out that way. Walter Riggs is the “Father of Clemson Football.” He started the Clemson football team in 1896 after leaving a coaching job at Auburn. Clemson was starting from scratch, so Riggs brought with him some old practice jerseys from Auburn – they were orange and navy, which had faded to a “purply” color, setting up the color scheme as we see it today. 

The University of South Carolina draws its color inspiration from its long-time mascot, the Gamecock. The garnet and black were revealed at South Carolina’s first football game against Furman in 1892. 

Sometimes the "uniqueness" quality outweighs everything else. Such is the case with Virginia Tech’s colors. They were adopted in 1896 by a committee because Chicago Maroon and Burnt Orange was an uncommon combination not worn anywhere else at the time.  

Digging into the back stories of school color choices didn’t net anything specific for the Appalachian Mountaineers, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and Western Carolina Catamounts, but we did learn that an alumni meeting in the 1890s solidified royal purple and white as Furman’s official colors.  

Harris & Ewing, photographer. Football Game. United States, 1923. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016892854/

The SoCon, Since 1921 

As it turns out, these “super” conferences are not a new thing. Here’s what we learned when we started to flip through the pages of history. 

College conferences were formed to engender rivalries and to ensure that collegiate teams could have a “complete” schedule of games and that those games would be within a practical travel distance for both the teams and their fans. The first “super conference” was the old Southern Conference, which is one of the oldest conferences in the nation. 

Formed in 1921, the SoCon was chartered by 14 schools. A year later, six more joined in the fun. And shortly thereafter three more schools signed on. Talk about an unwieldy schedule to put together with 23 schools - Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Washington & Lee followed by Florida, LSU, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tulane, and Vanderbilt, and finally Duke, Sewanee, and Virginia Military Institute. At least most of them were just an easy bus ride away. 

The Southern Conference gave birth to the Southeastern Conference (in 1932) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (in 1953). It helped populate the American Conference (later Conference USA), the Mid-American Conference, the Colonial/Coastal Athletic Association and even the Metro Conference (who remembers that one??). In other words, there’s been a lot of traffic through the Southern Conference. And that’s not even getting into affiliate agreements where schools that are members of another conference have a relationship with the SoCon for wrestling or other sports not sponsored by their parent conference. It’s mind-boggling! 

Now the SoCon has settled down to a core of 10 teams with some rotating in or out depending on the sport. That’s manageable and realistic. And it allows teams to play each other, have rivalries heat up that are fun for everyone (OK, most everyone), and also play teams outside the conference, too. All in all, we believe that the oft-talked about pendulum will eventually swing back to equilibrium with many of the “broken or ballooning” conferences going back to their core region and relationships. It will likely take a while, because we have to remember, the conference carousel has been going round and round for a while now to get us to here. 

Don Your Team Colors

Fall Saturdays are colorful – from the hillsides dappled with fall colors and the stadium stands to the tailgaters in parking lots to fans of both teams gathered for a post contest beverage at a local brewery. Team colors make our affiliations visible. After all, it should be easy to identify your people. Of course, there are those who are vexed and need special attention – think Mama Kelsey when her sons were pitted against each other in the Super Bowl. Those “house-divided” jerseys are hard to come by. 

Mast Store has a plethora of shirts, hats, and accessories in your favorite team’s colors to help you represent your people well. Choose from Appalachian State University, Clemson University, University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest. If you don’t have a true affiliation, but you love the Southeastern Conference, there are even shirts for you to represent all 16 schools in this football powerhouse.  

Tailgating is a growing tradition across all sports, but football is where it has its roots. Some tailgates are the focus of the afternoon – even more so than the game itself. Yes, food is important. You might want to reference this blog from the past to learn more about the fascinating history of tailgating. While there’s still time before the first game, start planning your “team meal” menus and gathering accoutrements to make the pre-game an event. Here’s where you’ll find furniture and games, foods and grilling utensils, drink insulators, coolers, and more. 

So, get out your map of the United States (you’ll need it to understand conference realignment), pack up your clear stadium bag, and head to the game!