Southeastern Conference

ALABAMA ARKANSAS AUBURN
"Crimson Tide" "Razorbacks" "Tigers"
Tuscaloosa, AL Fayetteville, AR Auburn, AL
FLORIDA GEORGIA KENTUCKY
"Gators" "Bulldogs" "Wildcats"
Gainesville, FL Athens, GA Lexington, KY
LOUISIANA STATE MISSISSIPPI STATE MISSOURI
"Tigers" "Bulldogs" "Tigers"
Baton Rouge, LA Starkville, MS Columbia, MO
OKLAHOMA OLE MISS SOUTH CAROLINA
"Sooners" "Rebels" "Gamecocks"
Norman, OK Oxford, MS Columbia, SC
TENNESSEE TEXAS TEXAS A&M
"Volunteers" "Longhorns" "Aggies"
Knoxville, TN Austin, TX College Station, TX
VANDERBILT
"Commodores"
Nashville, TN

Oklahoma and Texas are new members of this conference in 2024.

Historical Helmets

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

1969 September 20, 1969 c.1950s - 1971 (some games);
1983 - 1984 (some games)
*see note 1 below
1960 -

Alabama has one of the smallest sets of different historical helmet designs for the period covered by this web site (1960 to present), and the team's current helmet design may qualify as the "oldest helmet design still in use" (at least among the NCAA Division I teams). The style of numerals worn on the helmets was somewhat different during the early 1960s.

Alabama has used white helmets rather than crimson ones during several periods. White was the regular color during the 1950s until crimson helmets were used during the Bluebonnet Bowl game against Texas on December 17, 1960. Thereafter, crimson became the usual helmet color for several years, but "at times during the 1960s, Alabama used white helmets on eligible receivers in games at night or when another team's helmet matched or resembled ours in color" - one report I have received indicates that this was done only for a single season (year unspecified) before an NCAA rule was instituted mandating that all players on each team use the same color helmets. There were apparently some occasions during the late 1960s when the entire team team used white helmets; I do not have a list of such games from this period, but two games in 1971 (vs Southern California and vs Houston) were apparently the last ones during which Alabama used white helmets until 1983. (reference: http://www.rolltide.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8000&ATCLID=291762 - link is now obsolete)

White helmets were again used during eight games in 1983 and 1984 - the following is apparently a complete list of these games: September 24, 1983 at Vanderbilt, October 29, 1983 vs Mississippi State, November 5, 1983 at LSU, November 12, 1983 vs Southern Mississippi, November 25, 1983 at Boston College, September 15, 1984 at Georgia Tech, November 3, 1984 at Mississippi State, and November 17, 1984 at Cincinnati.

*1 This design was apparently used during the entire 1969 season, but during Alabama's first game in 1969 (at Virginia Tech) some players wore white helmets. A short film from this game is available here: http://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/uva-lib:2285482 in which one can see that up to half of the offensive and special teams players are wearing white helmets while all of the defensive players appear to be using crimson helmets. Unfortunately the color of the football-shaped "100" logo on the white helmets is unclear, though a reddish color is weakly suggested by the video. This was apparently the only game in 1969 when some Alabama players used white helmets.

It was also reported to me that the "100" logo was worn only on the right sides of Alabama's helmets in 1969 and that the usual uniform numerals were worn on the left sides - but I have received at least one photograph showing the "100" on both sides during at least one unknown game. I have not received any photographs showing the "100" on one side, but not on the other side.

Return to top of page

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

1958 - 1963 1964 - 1966 1967 - 1977
'I'
January 2, 1978 - 1994 1995 - 2000 September 10, 2011;
2021 -
*see note 1 below
'B' 'C' 'D'
2012 2013 - 2014; 2018 - 2013
'E' 'F' 'G'
2014 January 2, 2016; 2018 - 2016 - 2017
'H' 'I' 'A'
2017 2022 - 2001 -

During recent years Arkansas has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

*1 White facemasks were first used in the Orange Bowl game against Oklahoma at the end of the 1977 season.

Return to top of page

AUBURN UNIVERSITY

1960 1961 - 1965 1966 - 1978
*see note 1 below
November 28, 1981 January 1, 2020 October 6, 2007
*see note 2 below *see note 3 below
'C' 'B' 'A'
1979 - 1983;
2021 -		 2021 - 1984 -

During recent years Auburn has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

Auburn began using the traditional "AU" logo in 1966 and has used it ever since; it is apparently the only helmet logo that the team has ever used. Large uniform numbers were worn on both sides of the helmet through 1965.

*1 In 1960 most Auburn players were wearing this helmet design, but some photographs show a few players still wearing a blue/white/orange/white/blue stripe sequence that had first appeared in either 1956 or 1957. The helmet numerals appear to have first been used in 1958, and they were unusually large even then. 1960 was the only year that a single orange stripe was used.

*2 Black bars (probably pieces of black tape) were placed above the helmet logo during the 1981 game against Alabama, in memory of team members Alan Manley and Cary Condray, who were both killed in an automobile accident on November 17 of that year.

*3 During Auburn's appearance in the Outback Bowl vs Minnesota at the end of the 2019 season the number 7 was worn on the left side of each Auburn helmet in memory of former team member and 1971 Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan, who died December 1, 2019. The "AU" logo remained on the right side during this game.

Return to top of page

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

? - 1962? 1962 1963
1964 - 1965 1965; 1967? 1966
1967 1967 1967
1968 1969? - 1970? 1970
1971 - 1975 1976 - 1978 September 30, 2006
'B' (and 'B1')
November 28, 2009;
December 5, 2009 		October 30, 2010 2015 -
*see note 1 below
'C' 'D' 'A'
October 14, 2017 October 5, 2019 1979 -
*see note 2 below
'E' 'F' 'G'
2020 - 2020 - 2020 -
'H' 'I' 'J'
2021 - 2021 - 2022 -

During recent years Florida has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

Florida's helmet history during the 1960s is complicated by the fact that the team switched between blue and white helmets more than once, apparently in mid-season on at least one or two occasions, and helmet stripes were added or dropped frequently. The dates listed above for the mid- to late-1960s are for now very approximate.

During the very early 1960s, white helmets were used; each of these had a single stripe of some unknown color (I think probably orange) and numerals on the sides that were also of a color that I cannot yet identify (but I would guess that they were probably blue or black). At some point during the 1962 season the numerals were moved to the fronts of the helmets and replaced on the sides by "Confederate Battle Flags"; below are photos of this design:

This design was probably used during just one game, the Gator Bowl vs Penn State. The stripe color and front numeral color remain unknown.

At least three different helmet designs were used in 1967. During the first six games, the helmet logo visible in the photograph below was used; I do not know the color of either the "F" or the football shape that surrounds it, so I would appreciate any color photographs from this year. Two different stripe sequences were used with this design, a single orange stripe for the first two games, and a blue-orange-blue sequence for the next four games. For Florida's seventh game of the 1967 season vs. Georgia, the "F" logo was replaced with players' uniform numerals of some unknown color, probably blue, but perhaps black or some other color. The numerals were also used for the team's next three games.

*1 Design 'B' has the script "Gators" logo on its left side only; the right side has a blue "F" logo (as shown below). Design 'B1' has the 'Gators' logo on both sides.

*2 This design has uniform numerals on its left side only and a "gator head" logo on its right side (as shown below).

Return to top of page

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

1962 (some games) 1960 - 1963 1964 - c.1977
*see note 1 below
December 29, 1991 1996 - 2000 October 31, 2009
September 3, 2011 c.1978 - 1995; 2001 -

*1 The red "G" logo was not used during all games in 1962. It is visible in photographs from games against Florida State and an unidentified team in plain white helmets, but is not seen in photos from the Clemson and Florida games.

Return to top of page

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

1960 - 1961 1962 only? 1963 - 1968
*see note 1 below
1969 1970 - 1971 1972
1973 - 1974 1975 - c.1981 c.1981 - 1989
*see note 2 below
1990 - c.1992 c.1990 - 1996 1997 - 2002
*see note 3 below
'B'
October 2, 2004 2001 - 2010 2011 - 2015
*see note 4 below
'A' 'C' 'D'
2011 - 2013 2014 - 2015 2014 - 2015
'E' 'F' 'G'
2014 - 2015 2016 - 2016 -
'H' 'I' 'J'
2016 - 2016 - 2017 -
'K' 'L' 'M'
2018 - 2018 - 2019 -
'N' 'O'
2022 - 2022 -

During recent years Kentucky has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

Kentucky used both blue and white helmets in 2001 and 2002. The team first used the blue "UK" helmet for the team's fourth game of the 2001 season, a home match against Mississippi. The blue helmets were used for five games altogether during 2001: Sep. 29 vs Mississippi; Oct. 6 at South Carolina; Oct 20 at Georgia; Nov. 10 at Vanderbilt; Nov. 17 vs Tennessee. During the 2002 season, the blue helmets were used during these six games: Sep. 14 vs Indiana; Oct. 12 vs South Carolina; Oct. 19 at Arkansas; Nov. 2 at Mississippi State; Nov. 16 vs Vanderbilt; Nov. 30 at Tennessee.

During at least 1960 and 1961, white helmets were used; these had players' uniform numerals on the sides and a single stripe, both of which were of some unknown dark color (very probably blue; a color photograph would be appreciated).

It would appear that the team used plain blue helmets in 1969 - no stripes or logos are visible on the helmets in the two photographs that I have from that season. I do not have any color photographs, so it is unclear whether the team was still using the relatively light blue shells that were in use earlier.

*1 Apparently throughout the period when these helmet numerals were in use (1963 - 1968), they were worn only on the left sides of the helmets; on the right sides was a "wildcat head" logo (below is a close-up photo). The logo was unusually intricate for the time, with the cat's head apparently depicted in several gradients of some unknown color (perhaps gray or light blue) and with at least some black parts, and red or pink in the cat's mouth. I would greatly appreciate a large, clear color photograph of this helmet design.

*2 Blue facemasks may have not been used until 1983, but a switch to a relatively light royal blue color was apparently made when Jerry Claiborne became head coach in 1982.

*3 This design was used by the entire Kentucky team beginning in about 1993, but as early as perhaps mid-season 1990, Coach Bill Curry began rewarding his players for outstanding performances with the right to wear this design.

*4 This design was used during a home game in 2004 against Ohio.

Return to top of page

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

c.mid 1960s - 1971 1972 - 1976 1977 - 1979
*see note 1 below
'B' 'C'
November 28, 2009 October 22, 2011; 2015 December 28, 1997;
September 29, 2007;
2016; 2019; 2021 -
'D' 'E' 'F'
September 17, 2016 September 29, 2018 October 20, 2018
'A'
1980 -

During recent years LSU has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

A small number of photographs exist from the year 1970 showing another possible helmet design for LSU - the "tiger head" logo appears inside a purple circle, with the letters "LSU" beneath the tiger and outside the circle. However, none of these photographs are from a game situation, and I have seen no evidence to suggest that this design was every actually used by LSU during a game.

*1 Different styles of numerals than those shown on this design were used earlier during the 1960s; this block style was used from at least 1967 onwards.

Return to top of page

MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY

1951 - 1962 1963 - 1965 1966 - 1968
1969 - 1971 1972 1973 - 1977
1978 1979 - 1985 1986 - 1988
1989 - 1995 2000 - 2002 November 27, 2003
*see note 1 below
1996 - 2003 November 1, 2008 2004 - 2008
'B' 'C'
2009 - 2010 2011 2011
'D' 'A' 'E'
2011 - 2012; 2014 2011 2012
'F' 'G' 'H'
2012 2012 - 2014 2012
'I' 'J' 'K'
2013 2013 2014
'L' 'M' 'N'
2015 - 2017 2015 - 2019; 2021 - 2016 - 2017
'O' 'P' 'Q'
2018 2018 - 2019 2018
'R' 'S' 'T'
2019 2019 2020
'U' 'V' 'W'
2020 2020 2021
'X' 'Y' 'Z'
2022 - 2022 - 2022 -
'AA' 'AB' 'AC'
2022 2022 2023 -
*see note 2 below

During recent years Mississippi State has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

The photograph below (from the university's 1966 yearbook) enabled me to match the helmet logo with the one shown and thus add this helmet to the website - one that had been "missing" for roughly 18 years. To the best of my knowledge, the above are all of the "known" helmet designs for MSU since 1960.

*1 This design was first used for MSU's appearance in the 2000 Independence Bowl against Texas A&M. It was subsequently used in games during the 2001 regular season vs Memphis, at Florida, vs LSU, and at Arkansas; and again 2002 at Oregon and at Mississippi.

*2 The 'pirate flag' logo on this design is present on the left side only; on the right side is the "M-State" logo worn on both sides of design 'O'. The pirate flag logo memorializes Mississippi State head football coach Mike Leach, who died on December 12, 2022.

Return to top of page

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI

1969 1958? - 1970 1971 - 1977
*see note 1 below
1980 - 1981 1983 - 1984 1990
*see note 2 below
1978 - 1979; 1982;
1985 - 1995		 November 28, 2009 1996 - 2011
'B' 'C' 'D'
2012 - 2017 2013 - 2016 2014 - 2017
'A' 'E' 'F'
2012 - 2018 2015 2017 - 2018
'G' 'H' 'I'
2017 2017 2018
'J' 'K' 'L'
2018 2018 2018
'M' 'N' 'O'
2018 2018 2018
'P' 'Q' 'R'
2018 2018 2019; 2021 -
'S' 'T' 'U'
2019 2019 2019
'V' 'W' 'X'
2019 - 2020 2019 - 2020 2019
'Y' 'Z' 'AA'
2019 - 2020 2019 2020
'AB' 'AC' 'AD'
2020 2021 - 2021 -
'AE' 'AF' 'AG'
2021 - 2021 - 2022 -
'AH' 'AI' 'AJ'
2022 - 2022 - 2022 -
'AK' 'AL' 'AM'
2022 - 2022 - 2023 -
'AN' 'AO' 'AP'
2023 - 2023 - 2023 -
'AQ' 'AR' 'AS'
2023 - 2024 - 2024 -

During recent years Missouri has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

*1 This design has been reported as being used at least as early as 1958. The 1956 helmet was similar, but lacked the numerals.

*2 The decal shown on this helmet was actually worn only on the right sides of the helmets in 1990, with the left side appearing as on the next helmet. This special decal contained text (not legible at this size) reading "*100* YEARS" (along the top of the football-shape) and "UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI" (along the bottom).

Return to top of page

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI

c.1960s 1969 1970 - ?
? - 1978 1979 - 1982 November 4, 1989
*see note 1 below
'B' 'C' 'D'
1983 - 1994;
September 27, 2014;
2015 -		 2017 - 2017 -
'E' 'F' 'G'
2018 - 2018 - 2020 -
'H' 'I' 'J'
2021 - 2022 - 2022 -
'K' 'A'
2024 - 1995 -

During recent years Mississippi has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

It is somewhat difficult to summarize the helmet history for this team, due to the fact that the team has apparently made several changes to the blue color used on the helmets through the years, and some of these changes were quite minor. For the purpose of this web site, I have lumped these color changes into just two shades, the navy blue that has been used most of the time since 1995, and a much-lighter "powder blue" that was used during at least two earlier periods. Based on photographic evidence, it appears that the helmets were a rather light blue color throughout the 1960s (with the apparent exception of 1969), the early 1970s, and from 1983 through 1994. The light blue color apparently varied to some extent from one year to the next, as different mixtures of paint were used on the helmets. Darker helmets were used from at least 1975 through 1982, and from 1995 to present. The navy helmets used in recent years may be somewhat darker than those used during the earlier period.

*1 During the 1989 home game against LSU, the entire team wore the numerals "38" on the left sides of their helmets as a tribute to team member Chucky Mullins, who had suffered a severe spinal injury the previous week during a game against Vanderbilt; 38 was Mullins' uniform number.

Return to top of page

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

1962 - 1965 1966 1967 - 1976
'B' 'C'
August 30, 2003;
November 21, 2009		 2014 - 2014 - 2017; 2019
'D' 'E' 'A'
2020 - 2021 2022 - 1977 -

During recent years Oklahoma has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

Oklahoma switched from white helmets to crimson ones for the 1966 season, which also marked the debut of the traditional interlocking "OU" logo, which was "rounder" in shape for the first season than the "block" version which appeared the following year and has been used ever since. There have been some minor changes to the logo during the subsequent years.

A change to the shade of "crimson" used on the helmets was apparently made sometime around 1977, the earlier color having been basically "red", and I believe the facemasks were also changed from gray to white at about the same time. Apparently white facemasks were not added to all helmets at the same time; there may have been some seasons in which both white and gray facemasks were used simultaneously by different players.

Return to top of page

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

1956 - 1960 1961 - 1962 1963
*see note 7 below
1964 - 1965 1964 - 1965 1966 - 1967
*see note 1 below *see note 1 below
1968 1969 - 1974 1970 - 1974 (seniors)
*see note 2 below
1975 - 1981 1982 1983 - 1988
*see note 3 below *see note 4 below
1989 - 1998;
November 28, 2015		 1999 - 2000 2004
*see note 5 below
'A'
October 1, 2011 November 14, 2015 2000 - 2003; 2005 - 2019
*see note 6 below
'B' 'C' 'D'
2016 - 2017 2016 - 2018 2018
'E' 'F' 'G'
2019 - 2020 - 2021 -
'H' 'I' 'J'
2019 - 2019 - 2022 -
'K' 'L'
2024 - 2024 -

During recent years South Carolina has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

*1 Both of these designs were apparently used during both 1964 and 1965.

*2 South Carolina Head Coach Paul Dietzel awarded black helmets to his senior players during at least parts of the 1973 and 1974 seasons, possibly only for the annual games against Clemson. I have also received some photographs from games during the 1970 and 1972 seasons in which at least some USC players are wearing black helmets like this one, but without the stripe.

*3 The size of the logo may have varied somewhat during these years.

*4 The 1982 helmet featured an "asymmetric" stripe sequence: the white middle stripe was bordered by a red or garnet stripe on the left, and by a black stripe on the right.

*5 During at least the 1996 season, a "special teams player of the week" was "awarded" with the opportunity to wear a single, rather wide white stripe on his helmet during the team's next game (this variety not represented here since it was used by only a single player during any game).

*6 A mid-season switch to this design was made for the fourth game of the 2000 season. A slight widening of the garnet stripes may have been made for the 2001 season.

*7 Clear color photographs from 1963 are scarce but it appears as though on at least some helmets the letters "S" and "C" were different colors; however I think that on some helmets both letters may have been the same color (either black or garnet).

Return to top of page

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE

c.1950s - 1961 1962 1963
1965 1964 - 1966 1973
*see note 1 below *see note 2 below
'B'
1967 - 1976 1977 - 1982 2015 - 2017; 2022
'C' 'D' 'E'
2021 2022 - 2022 -
'F' 'G' 'A'
2023 - 2024 - 1983 -
*see note 4 below *see note 3 below

During recent years Tennessee has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

*1 A black cross was added to the logo for the last few games of the 1965 season in memory of three assistant coaches (Charlie Rash, Bill Majors, and Bob Jones) who lost their lives as a result of a train/automobile collision which occurred in West Knoxville on October 18 of that year.

*2 The orange-white-orange stripe sequence was apparently used only during the last three games of the 1973 season.

*3 The orange stripe was narrower from 2004 through 2006, though I have not attempted to depict the change here since the difference would be imperceptible at this image size.

*4 This design has an asymmetrical stripe sequence; of the total stripe width approximately the leftmost two-sevenths of the stripe is white, while the remainder is orange.

Return to top of page

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

1957 - 1960 1961 - 1962 1963 - 1966
1969;
November 7, 2015		 1967 - 1968;
1970 - 1976		 January 1, 1982
*see note 1 below
2012 (last 4 games) September 3, 2005;
November 26, 2009;
2013		 October 19, 2019
*see note 2 below *see note 3 below
1977 - 2012;
2014 -

*1 For its appearance in the 1982 Cotton Bowl game against Alabama, Texas used a special version of the longhorn logo which included between the "horns" the words "COTTON BOWL CLASSIC" and a picture of a cotton boll.

*2 Beginning with the November 10, 2012 game (vs Iowa State) the traditional longhorn logo was altered by the addition of the letters "DKR" in white; this was done in memory of former Texas head coach Darrell K. Royal, who died on November 7, 2012. The "DKR" decals were worn for the team's remaining games in 2012, including the Valero Alamo Bowl at San Antonio, TX (vs Oregon State).

*3 This design was used during the 2005 home game against Louisiana-Lafayette, the 2009 game at Texas A&M, and the entire 2013 season.

Return to top of page

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

1959 - 1962 1963 1964
1965 - 1971 1972 - 1977 1978 (first ten games)
1978 (last two games) 1999 - 2003 1979 - 1998; 2004 - 2006
October 2, 2009;
November 14, 2009		 November 26, 2009 2007 - 2011
*see note 1 below
'E' 'F' 'G'
November 3, 2012 November 2, 2013 November 23, 2013;
November 30, 2013
'C' 'D' 'B'
October 4, 2014 November 1, 2014 2012 - 2017
'A' 'H' 'I'
2012 - 2019 2015 2015
'J' 'K' 'L'
2016 2017 2018; 2020 -
'M' 'N' 'O'
2024 - 2024 - 2024 -

During recent years Texas A&M has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

*1 A special helmet logo was worn during the 2009 home game against Texas; the logo added a "ribbon" to the traditional "aTm" logo in memry of the victims of the 1999 bonfire collapse which caused the deaths of twelve Texas A&M students. The text on the ribbon reads "1999-2009".

Return to top of page

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

? - 1965 1966 - 1968 1969
*see note 1 below
1969 - 1972 1973 - 1975 1976 - 1978
1979 - 1983 1984 - 1985 1987
*see note 2 below
1986 - 1989 1990 1991 - 1998
'B' 'C'
1999 - 2001 2011 - 2014 2012 - 2013
'D' 'A' 'E'
2014 2002 - 2016 2015 - 2020
'F' 'G' 'H'
2015 - 2017 2015 - 2018 2017 - 2020
'I' 'J' 'K'
2018 2019 2020
'L' 'M' 'N'
2020 2021 - 2021 -
'O' 'P' 'Q'
2022 - 2022 - 2022 -
'R' 'S' 'T'
2022 - 2023 - 2023 -
*see note 3 below
'U'
2023 -

During recent years Vanderbilt has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

*1 In 1969 Vanderbilt used a version of the "100" college football centennial logo during at least three games (at North Carolina, vs Alabama, and vs Kentucky). I have very few photographs from this season and the extent to which these decals were used is unclear. In one photograph from the Alabama game the "100" logo is visible on both of the two Vanderbilt helmet left sides which are visible, while the star logo is present on the right side of a third helmet. A second photograph from the Alabama game shows the star logo on the right side of the only visible Vanderbilt helmet. A single photograph from the Kentucky game shows only the left side of one Vanderbilt helmet, on which the "100" logo is present. In a photograph from the North Carolina game the "!00" is present on the only left helmet side visible, while the star logo is present on the two visible right sides. A black stripe also appears to be present during all of these games.

*2 The number 73 was worn on the left side of all Vanderbilt football helmets in 1987 in memory of team member Paul Lomanto, who had worn uniform number 73 prior to his death that year. The numbers were worn on the left side only; the right side had the same star logo as was worn on both sides of the helmets in 1986 and 1988 - 1989.

*3 The star/"V" logo is worn on the left side only of this design; on the right side are three different U.S. military insignia representing units stationed at Fort Campbell, an installation located along the Tennessee-Kentucky border north of Nashville. Below are representations of these right-side designs.

101st Airborne Division U.S. Army Special
Operations Aviation Command 		U.S. Army
Special Forces

Return to top of page