Scott Stadium - Traditions and Controversy

Traditions and Controversy

Traditionally, males wear coats and ties and females wear sundresses to games, which is also tradition at Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tulane, and Vanderbilt. Beginning during the 2003 season, however, head coach Al Groh called upon fans to set aside traditional attire for orange clothing. Over the following seasons, many fans took to wearing orange t-shirts with slogans like "Orange Crush," "Orange Fever", "Al's Idiots", and "Sea of Orange". See image above and notice the orange-colored student section, to the left of where the band was sitting.

The t-shirt movement has been welcomed by many, but ties and sundresses can still be easily spotted at Scott Stadium among students and alumni. Some have compromised by wearing ties with orange dress shirts or orange sundresses. The Cavalier Daily, the University's daily student-published newspaper, weighed in on the debate in its September 1, 2005, lead editorial. The Declaration, an alternative weekly news magazine at the University, also ran a feature story on the debate prior to the 2006 home opener.

The 2008 season marked the debut of the athletics department's "Power of Orange" marketing campaign. Nike released the official orange t-shirt, while orange towels bearing the logo were distributed to all fans at the home opener to achieve an "orange out". Famous alumni will be utilized at every home game to raise a large Power of Orange flag just before kickoff at the top of The Hill.