LSU Traditions
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
LSU Sport Team's Name
All LSU sport team are called the Fightin' Tigers, Tigers, or Lady Tigers. LSU adopted the name "Tigers" in 1896 after they went undefeated in football that season. They chose "Tigers" because most collegiate teams at that point had ferocious animals as their team names, but another reason dates back to the American Civil War. All of the Louisiana troops in Robert E. Lee's Northern Virginia Army were known as the Tigers during the Civil War. The school liked the idea of honoring that name.
Victory Hill
About an hour before kick-off, the LSU Tigers Marching Band, Golden Girls, and Colorguard "March Down Victory Hill" prior to every home game. The fans line both sides of the road and listen for the drum cadence to know when the band is leaving the Greek Theatre. The band will stop on top of Victory Hill and when they begin their drum cadence, they begin to "March Down Victory Hill." Once their off Victory Hill they play the introduction to "Touchdown for LSU," then they begin to run in tempo through the streets among the cheering fans.
School Colors
There are several stories for the origins of LSU's purple and gold school colors. The original school colors were blue and white, and they were changed around 1893. The first story is that purple and gold were worn by the LSU baseball team in the spring of 1893 in LSU's first intercollegiate match against Tulane. It is said that the team captian hand picked those colors for the team. Another story is that the football coach went to buy ribbons for the team to wear on their gray jerseys as they played the first ever LSU football game. The stores in the area were stocking ribbons in Mardi Gras colors, purple, gold, and green. All of the green ribbons were sold out, so the coach bought all of the purple and gold.