Tiger Walk swagger: Why LSU football players strut in tailored suits on Victory Hill (2024)

Two hours before every home football game, Louisiana State University football players, coaches and staff members walk down Victory Hill in tailored suits of all colors, fabrics and patterns. The tradition attracts thousands of fans to the street to watch the team stride into Tiger Stadium.

Fans are accustomed to seeing the team as a collective rather than individuals, but the chance to work with a tailor to create a custom suit allows each football player to explore his identity and personal style.

There may be no “I” in team, but there is an “I” in personality.

“You know, most people don’t know us beyond the field,” said BJ Ojulari, defensive lineman. “But when you see somebody’s suit — the colors they wear, the colors they match — it can give you a type of interpretation of who that person is off the field.”

For the record, Ojulari’s suit is gray with a classic white shirt underneath and includes what he calls a “little fashion statement” through a purple tie and Christion Dior sneakers. He explained that he’s not a flashy guy when it comes to fashion, but he does care about the way he presents himself. Ojulari describes himself as a calm, chill guy — and his suit reflects that.

People will stare. Make it worth their while. —Harry Winston

LaKeitha Poole, assistant athletic director for the LSU Sport Psychology and Counseling Department, explained that a football player’s tailored suit offers more than a peek into his personality. The suits, over time, can serve as physical evidence of the evolution of his identity or self-understanding. Pooleis a licensed mental health practitioner who counsels student athletes and advocates for their mental health.

“I think it’s a moment for many of them to be able to express a part of their personality, to be able to even explore identity a little bit,” Poole said.

She explained that the walk down Victory Hill offers a moment of autonomy for the players, as it is the last time the crowd sees them without pads, jerseys and helmets, wearing their uniforms— a word thatcomes from the Latin 'uniformis,' which means "of one form." The noun, meaning distinctive clothes worn by a single group, was first used in the mid-1700s. Once in uniform, as the word implies, the team, rather than the individual, is the focus.

The tailored suitsserve to boost the player's individual swagger and showcase a certain pride.

“It’s kind of intimidating, I think. It makes it look like we’re here for business,” Charles Turner III, starting center, said of the suits. “Look good. Feel good. Play good.”

The Tiger Walk down Victory Hill is something that fans relish. The walk is just another way for fans to feel like they are connected to the players.

"They're young guys. They're showing off," saidMatt Jones, LSU alumnus and longtime tailgater and fan. "They've got a huge amount of swagger."

Jones also noted that some of the players wear their Beats by Dre wireless headphones and AirPods to keep their focus while others are engaging with the crowd.

"They're thinking through the game and in the zone. They're strutting, but these guys are getting ready for a game," Jones said. "Look at Joe Burrow— they're also building a brand."

Fans look forward to seeing the players in their suits —like seeing a favorite celebrity walk the red carpet.

“I think people are fascinated just by the creativity of our student athletes as far as how they’re putting their suits together along with their shoes, and that’s the whole look,” said Damon Arnold, the director of player development at LSU.

Fashion is instant language.—Miuccia Prada

Color psychology, Poole said, plays into suit choices as well. Colors, along with clothes, serve as a nonverbal form of communication. Different colors, cuts and styles set the mood, convey an emotion or serve as inspiration.

While a sea of purple and gold blankets the LSU campus on game days, the football players’ suits often don’t include purple and gold. Instead, they wear navy blue, black, red, brown and gray suits adorned with chains and thoughtfully pairedwith sneakers.

As players change and evolve, so does their style. The implementation of rules for college athletes to monetize their name, image and likeness has allowed collegeathletes to partner with local brands like Gordon McKernan Law Firm and Raising Cane's, or even national brands, to earn money. Some athletes have capitalized on their NIL opportunities, including quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.— Rachel Zoe

According to On3, a college sports digital media, data and marketing company, Daniels has an NIL valuation of $392,000. Meanwhile, freshman basketball player Flaujae Johnson, who is also a rapper, has a deal with Puma and an estimated NIL value of $587,000, and LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne has an NIL valuation of $2.3 million — a total that ranks first among all college gymnasts and of LSU athletes.

Though winning a game requires a team effort, personal style serves as a stamp of identity. However, clothes also have the ability to accentuate confidence, necessary for a game of any sort, but particularly when 102,321 people, and even more on television, are watching.

As fashion icon Iris Apfel said, "Fashion you can buy, but style you possess. The key to style is learning who you are, which takes years. There's no how-to road map to style. It's about self expression and, above all, attitude."

The process of customizing a suit serves as an ode to creativity and self expression. Poole explained that college athletes are in the "perfect age group" where, psychologically, they are experiencing the most growth, learning the most about themselves and shaping their identity for the long run, and fashion plays a part in this.

“It gives each player that one moment to at least be able to feel not necessarily separate from the team, but to have their own identity as a part of the team,” Poole said. “And doing it in a silent way, they let their outfit speak for them.”