Helmet sticker

Helmet with paw print stickers (O'Fallon Panthers, Illinois High School Association, 2008)

Helmet stickers, also known as reward decals and pride stickers, are stickers that are affixed to a high school or college football player's helmet. They can denote either individual or team accomplishments.

History

ESPN says the practice of awarding helmet stickers is often wrongly credited to Ernie Biggs, also an athletic trainer at Ohio State under legendary coach Woody Hayes.^[1] They instead claim that the practice of awarding stickers began with Jim Young, former assistant coach at Miami in 1965, two years before they were used by the Buckeyes.^[1]

An even earlier attribution is given to Gene Stauber, freshman coach at Nebraska (1955–1957) by head coach Pete Elliott.^[2] Stauber routinely used stickers throughout his tenure as assistant coach at Illinois (1960–1970), as a 1962 photo of All-American linebacker Dick Butkus indicates.^[3] The stickers stem from fighter pilots marking their planes with stickers or painted roundels after kills and/or successful missions.^[4]

Michael Pellowski, in his book Rutgers Football: A Gridiron Tradition in Scarlet, credits Rutgers defensive backs coach Dewey King with being “one of the first” to award decals for helmets in 1961. The stickers were given for interceptions only, so they were more difficult to earn. Every time there was an interception, the crowd yelled “give him the star.” The stars can be seen in a photo of the 1961 team walking from the locker room to the field prior to the season finale against Columbia.^[5]

Current usage

Division I

FBS

These are the current 8 Teams that still do them (updated:08-13-2024, 3:00am )(FSU, OS… Are the only 2 schools with pride on All colored helmets)

Clemson: paw print /3.0/4.0
Florida State: tomahawk (Only awarded after team wins)
Louisiana: fleur de lis
Michigan: wolverine with players' personal achievements and area codes
Ohio State: buckeye tree leaf
Pittsburgh: panther head
San Jose State: 100/100, “Prove It” ( only on blue helmets)
Stanford: axe blade

FCS

Alabama A&M
Butler: dog bone
Florida A&M: snake heads
Fordham University: ram head
Illinois State: Reggie Redbird
New Hampshire
North Carolina A&T
Weber State
Youngstown State: white star

Discontinued usage

Appalachian State: Yosef
Arizona: Wildcat Paw
Arizona State: Pitchfork
Arkansas: Hog head
Arkansas State: "I Will"
Baylor: Bear head
Bowling Green: "BG" logo
BYU: Gold Cougar (Personal Goals) and Blue Cougar (Team Goals, Wins)/"HC" (used only on throwback helmets)
California: Football (football with big C and "WIN" on it, Growling Bear head ('70s))
Central Michigan: Yellow Block C
Colorado: Buffalo
Colorado State: Ram horn
Duke: Grim Reaper
East Carolina: Skull Pirate Logo
Florida Atlantic
FIU: gold panther paw
Fresno State: White Bone, Yellow Bone, and Black Bone
Georgia: White Bone/Black Bone (Academic) (Used during the Mark Richt Era (2001-2015), White Stars during the Vince Dooley Years
University of Hawaii: Warrior helmet and cross spears ^[6]^[7]
Houston: White Paw
Indiana
Iowa State: Cyclone
Kentucky: White Wildcat Paw/Blue Wildcat Paw (only on white helmets)
Louisville: Cardinal
Louisiana Monroe: Maroon Star/Warhawk Talon
Marshall: Green Horn
Maryland: Red Turtle and Yellow Turtle
Memphis: Tiger Paw
Miami: Green hurricane/Orange hurricane
Miami (Ohio): Star/Tomahawk
Middle Tennessee State: Pegasus
Michigan State: White "S"/ Javelin
Missouri: Tiger Paw
Mississippi State: Bulldog
North Carolina State: Wolf Fang
New Mexico: Lobo
New Mexico State: Aggie "A"
Nevada: Axe
Northwestern: Wildcat logo
Purdue: Train
Rice: Owl
Rutgers: Silver Star/Sword
SMU: Pony logo
Southern Miss: Eagle
South Carolina: Gamecock foot with spur
South Florida: Green Bull Logo
Temple: Diamond
Tennessee
Texas Tech: Red Star ^[8]
Toledo: White Rocket/Yellow Rocket
Tulane: Fleur-de-lis
Tulsa: Skull and Crossbones
UConn: Huskie/"C" logo
UCLA: Blue Bear Paw
UNLV: Ace of Spade
Utah: Utes logo
Utah State: Block letter 'A'/Bull
Vanderbilt: Ship Anchor (only on gold helmets)
Virginia
Virginia Tech: white star
Western Kentucky: "WKU" Red Towel logo
Western Michigan: Crossed Oars (used only during the 2013–16 tenure of P. J. Fleck as head coach), Black W logo (used during the 2020 season)
West Virginia: Musket
Wyoming: Small Bucking Horse

References

^ ^a ^b "Helmet Stickers". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
^ "Pete Elliott Interview".
^ "Dick Butkus apparently chewed through his facemask - Dick Butkus | Fanbase". Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
^ Rabjohns, Jeff (October 26, 2006). "Helmet stickers reward college football players' superior performance". USA Today. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
^ Sargeant, Keith (November 14, 2014). "Rutgers football 1961: 'The greatest team, the greatest season, and the greatest coach that any college ever had'". NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
^ "prideofhawaiisports.com".
^ "Custom Printed Stickers".
^ "Texas Tech Red Raiders Helmet History". swchelmets.tripod.com.

[ESPNvideo-1] "Helmet Stickers". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[2] "Pete Elliott Interview".

[3] "Dick Butkus apparently chewed through his facemask - Dick Butkus | Fanbase". Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2013.

[4] Rabjohns, Jeff (October 26, 2006). "Helmet stickers reward college football players' superior performance". USA Today. Retrieved February 17, 2010.

[5] Sargeant, Keith (November 14, 2014). "Rutgers football 1961: 'The greatest team, the greatest season, and the greatest coach that any college ever had'". NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.

[6] "prideofhawaiisports.com".

[7] "Custom Printed Stickers".

[8] "Texas Tech Red Raiders Helmet History". swchelmets.tripod.com.

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