Southern Conference

CHATTANOOGA THE CITADEL EAST TENNESSEE STATE
"Mocs" "Bulldogs" "Buccaneers"
Chattanooga, TN Charleston, SC Johnson City, TN
FURMAN MERCER SAMFORD
"Paladins" "Bears" "Bulldogs"
Greenville, SC Macon, GA Birmingham, AL
VIRGINIA MILITARY
INSTITUTE		 WESTERN CAROLINA WOFFORD
"Keydets" "Catamounts" "Terriers"
Lexington, VA Cullowhee, NC Spartanburg, SC

Historical Helmets

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE AT CHATTANOOGA

? - 1963 1964 - 1969 1970 - 1973
1974 - 1976 1977 1978 - 1980
? - 1993? 1994 only? ? - 1999?
2000 2001 - 2002 2003 - 2006
'A' 'B'
2007 - 2012 2013 - 2017 - 2018
'C' 'D'
2019 2020 -
*see note 1 below *see note 1 below

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

*1 The right sides of these designs differ from the left sides as depicted below.

'C' 'D'

THE CITADEL

1960 - ? c.1964 c.1965
c.1967 c.1968 c.1971
1972 1973 c.1974
c.1977 1978 - 1982 1983 - 1986
1987 - 2000 2001 2002
2003 2004 - 2006 2007 - 2009
November 6, 2010 2010 2011
November 23, 2013 September 27, 2014 2012 -
*see note 1 below *see note 2 below
September 12, 2015 2017 2015 - 2016; 2018
2019 - 2020* 2020 (1st 4 gms
of 2020-2021 season)		 2021
2022 November 11, 2023 2023 -

The Citadel has a large and interesting helmet history with many other designs having been used since 1960 in addition to the ones shown above. I have partial information for several of these:

I would not be at all surprised to learn of additional short-lived helmet designs from the 1960s. Below are photographs of some of the designs which I have not yet been able to add to the web site, due to the various uncertainties listed previously.

*1 Worn during the 2013 game at Clemson. Uniform numerals were worn only on the left side of each helmet; the right sides featured a logo consisting of the letter "C" inside an outline of the state of South Carolina (as shown below).

*2 Worn during the 2014 home game vs Gardner-Webb.

EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY

c.1990s ? - 2000 2001
'A'
2002 - 2003 November 16, 2019 2015 -
'B'
2022 -

In 2022 ETSU used two of the above helmet designs in the following sequence: B-B-B; B-A-A; A-A-A; B-B.

I have received little information about ETSU's team's earlier helmets. I believe that gold helmets have been used most years (including "plain" gold without logos during several years), but blue helmets were apparently used for at least a short time during the 1970s or 1980s; these had a script "Bucs" logo during at least some years.

ETSU did not have a football team during the years 2004 through 2014.

FURMAN UNIVERSITY

1960 1961 1962 - 1963
1964 1965 1966 - 1969
1970 - 1972 1973 - 1977 1978 - c.mid 1990s
'A'
2011 - 2016 October 14, 2017 -
October 28, 2017		 1996? - 2010; 2017 -
'B' 'C' 'D'
2022 - 2023 - 2023 -
*see note 1 below *see note 2 below *see note 3 below

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

The photograph below appears in Furman's 1968 yearbook and may show another short-lived helmet design for this team. I have seen no other photographs showing an oval-shaped logo containing an "F" on any Furman helmet. The opposing team may be Davidson.

*1 The logo is worn on the left side only of this design; uniform numbers are worn on the right side (as depicted below).

*2 The diamond-shaped logo is worn on the left side only of this design; an "FU" logo is present on the right side (as depicted below).

*3 The diamond-shaped logo is worn on the left side only of this design; an "FU" logo is present on the right side (as depicted below).

MERCER UNIVERSITY

'A'
November 7, 2015 2013 - 2015 2016 -
'B' 'C' 'D'
2016 - November 18, 2017 2018 -

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

2013 was the first year for the Mercer football team during the modern era (an earlier team played its last season in 1941).

SAMFORD UNIVERSITY

? - 1965 1966? - 1970? 1971 - 1973
1984 1985 - 1986 1987 - ?
? - 1992 1993 - 1998? 1999
September 10, 2011 2000 - November 7, 2015
*see note 1 below
2015 - November 5, 2016 November 12, 2016 -
November 26, 2016 		2017 -
2019 -

Samford University did not have a football team from 1974 through 1983. Prior to 1966 the school's name was Howard College. Howard apparently used an inconsistent set of white helmets during the early 1960s, some with stripes and others without, some with uniform numerals on the sides and others without. By 1964 the team used dark helmets (probably blue or red) with white uniform numerals on the sides. In 1965 - the team's last season as Howard College - the helmets were an unknown dark color with a logo composed of a white circle containing a dark "H" (see photograph below). Any color photographs of this design would be appreciated.

*1 Worn during the 2011 home game vs Stillman.

VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE

? - 1965 1966 1967 - 1968
1969 1970 1971
1972 - 1975 1976 1977 - 1981
1982 - 1984 1985 - 1988 1989 - 1992
1993 1997 1998
1994 - 1996; 1999 - 2009 2010 - 2022 -

For the time period covered by this web site (1960 to present) there are four other "known" VMI helmet designs which I have not yet been able to depict, due to insufficient information. Below are photographs of these four:

The 1969 helmet was apparently identical to the 1968 helmet except that a version of the "100" college football centennial logo was worn apparently on both sides. The photograph above is the clearest one I have seen of this helmet, and it is obviously not sufficient to reveal the color of the football-shape, though it appears to be either blue or black rather than red (most teams used a blue version).

I am unsure about the helmet shell color and the middle stripe color of the 1970 helmet, though the "VMI" logo and two outer stripes were almost certainly red in color. I believe that the shell color was probably white in 1970.

The 1997 helmet featured an intricate "VMI" logo worn on white helmets shells; I will need a copy of the logo in order to add this one to the web site. A larger and clearer photograph would also be helpful.

The 1976 design had a red shell with one white middle stripe and with an intricate logo on both sides; above is a much clearer photograph than the one previously shown here. In front of the flag within the oval-shaped logo is the upper body of (presumably) a cadet in a VMI uniform including shako (hat with tall plume), like the one shown in the other photograph. No clear color photographs of this logo have yet been located.

WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

1950 - 1970 1971 - ? 1989
1990 ? - 1981; 1991 1982 - 1988; 1992 - 1997
1998 - 2001 2002 - 2007 2008 - 2011
'B'
2012 November 1, 2014;
November 7, 2015		 2016 -
*see note 1 below
'C' 'D' 'A'
October 8, 2016 November 11, 2017 2013 - 2017
'E' (and 'E1')
2021 -
*see note 2 below

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

*1 A special logo was worn during the 2014 home game vs Chattanooga as part of the observance of "Eastern Band of Cherokee Day". The logo was worn only on the left side of each helmet, with the WCU/cat head logo worn on the right sides. This design was again worn during the 2015 home game vs Furman.

*2 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side only of designs 'E' and 'E1'; the right sides differ as depicted below.

'E' 'E1'

WOFFORD COLLEGE

c.1970 c.1980 - 1982? 1983
1985 - 1987 1988 - present