College Baseball Opening Day Traditions: A Grand Slam of Rituals

Opening Day for any baseball league is a momentous occasion, a symbol of rebirth and the promise of a new season. Writer Thomas Boswell captured this sentiment, titling a book "Why Time Begins on Opening Day." While Major League Baseball (MLB) Opening Day, typically in late March or early April, garners widespread attention, the Division I college baseball season offers its own unique set of traditions and excitement. As many Major League Baseball superfans patiently await the official Opening Day date of March 27th, I look forward to a date 41 days sooner. Friday, February 14th. The college game, with its own distinct charm and passionate fanbase, is well worth exploring.

The Allure of College Baseball

For those unfamiliar with the landscape of Division I (DI) baseball, here's a breakdown: Roughly 300 DI baseball schools, made up of 31 conferences. A typical DI baseball season consists of about 56 regular-season games per school, starting with non-conference clashes in February and continuing into conference play in March. Once conference play is over, conference playoffs begin to solidify spots in the regionals. When it comes to making the postseason, DI baseball takes 64 teams, much like DI basketball. Schools can clinch a regional birth by winning their conference or having a terrific regular season to earn an at-large bid. Most at-large bids are scooped up by the power-four conferences - the SEC, BIG TEN, BIG 12, and ACC. The top 16 schools in the country are lucky enough to host regionals come playoff time. Each region consists of four schools, seeded one-through-four double-elimination style. The regional champions move on to the Super Regional (view this as the “Sweet-16”). The eight highest remaining seeds host the Super Regionals, a three-game series between two schools to decide the remaining eight spots in the College World Series. Omaha, Nebraska, is the hub of college baseball, and Charles Schwab Field is the site for the double-elimination tournament. The king of DI baseball is crowned in June and dubbed College World Series Champions. Other basics of the sport include the fact that metal bats are used, some stadiums hold zero fans while others hold 40,000+, NIL and the transfer portal have made recent impacts, and tons of future MLB players grace the dirt. Also, defense across the nation may be sloppy at times, but it makes for good baseball.

One might ask, "Why watch college baseball when the best amateur players get drafted out of high school?" The reality is that college baseball is a hotbed for future MLB talent. Nine of the first 10 picks in the 2024 MLB Draft were college players. SEC baseball is so talent-filled it’s getting compared to the same level as Double-A baseball. The 2025 college baseball season is stockpiled with insane anomalies on the diamond. Jace LaViolette, a Texas A&M outfielder, is mocked as high as No. 1 in the upcoming July Draft. A few other incredible players to look out for ahead of the 2025 NCAA baseball season are Cam Cannarella (Clemson OF), Tyler Bremner (UCSB RHP), Devin Taylor (Indiana OF), Jamie Arnold (Florida State LHP), Aiva Arquette (Oregon State SS), and Luke Stevenson (North Carolina C), to name a few. The loyalty to a prior college commitment, or hard work to earn a starting spot/make a team is already instilled within these players. They focus on balancing academics, social lives, and their craft to get to the top. A unique triumph high schoolers who sign with MLB teams don’t have to deal with.

The passion of 95% of the college baseball landscape is infused with friendships rather than a paycheck. That cannot be manufactured in pro ball. It’s what makes the sport so intense.

Intriguing Storylines for the 2025 Season

It’s 2025. In my eyes, there are one-to-two teams to beat ahead of every DI baseball rollercoaster: the defending National Champion, and the pre-season No. 1 team in the country. This year, the defending National Champions are the Tennessee Volunteers, and the pre-season No. 1 ranked squad is the Texas A&M Aggies. These two schools just so happened to have met one another in last year’s Natty, with Tennesse coming out on top, two games to one. The occasional mid-major team falls into D1 Baseball’s top-25. Last season, Evansville and UConn struck lightning in a bottle and made the Super Regionals, shocking thousands. Some of the historically best mid-majors in college baseball are Cal State Fullerton, Fresno State, Witchita State, and Coastal Carolina. It’s never out of the realm of possibility to see mid-major madness.

Traditions Beyond the Baseline: College and MLB

Baseball secures a set of customs that make the game so special. When a sport has origins 200 years ago, it picks up quite a few traditions along the way. Some are treasured, classic rituals that should never and will never change. But some don’t deserve a future, and baseball would be better without them.

Pre-Game Rituals and the First Pitch

Nothing beats triumphing over traffic and getting to a ball game early enough to see the first pitch. Sometimes they bring in some washed-up actor or dumb influencer, but a lot of the time, the first pitch is thrown by a locally-related celebrity with a connection to the city. And the majority of first pitches are thrown into the dirt, which is hilarious to watch. Presidents have thrown the ceremonial first pitch of the season.

Team Celebrations

Different teams have adaptations of the walk-off celebration, but all involve a crazed mob of players gathered at home plate as the game’s hero walks in, completes the match, and scores the winning run. It’s incredibly entertaining to see spilled gallons of gatorade, scattered Dubble Bubble gumballs showering over the players, ripped jerseys, and jubilant faces.

Between Innings Entertainment

In Milwaukee, it’s the sausage race. In Washington, it’s the presidents’ race. In Colorado, it’s the Comfort Dental Tooth Trot (or it was until the ill-fated event was canceled). There’s an innate circuit in our brains that make us irrationally entertained when large foam mascots hurtle and stumble around the warning track. Longtime baseball fans will tell me that the new races could never be as good as the classics. But for me, toothpaste vs. toothbrush is always just as entertaining as a chorizo vs.

The Seventh-Inning Stretch

Every seventh inning stretch will at least include one tradition: the loud chorus of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Most MLB teams also have their own recurring song that plays after the classic ballgame tune. The Rockies have “Hey Baby,” a song which I would probably find quite annoying, but it has sentimental value because of the beloved stretch.

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Controversial Traditions

It’s difficult to believe how the old racist traditions of derogating Native Americans still exist so commonly in sports. This spans through college mascots to the Kansas City Chiefs to baseball’s Atlanta Braves, but the most accepted tradition that simply needs to go is the tomahawk chop. Tens of thousands of fans making a chopping motion with their hands while screaming a fake battle cry in unison. Many young children don’t even understand it’s wrong; their adult role models are chopping along beside them.

Culinary Traditions

Hot take: baseball has the most iconic snacks of any sport. Take the ordinary hot dog, which has been served in baseball parks since anyone can remember. How about cotton candy, the enchanting pillowy floss. The very title of this column is a lyric from “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” and the lyric is influenced by the roasted peanuts that are only delicious at a game and the cracker jacks which shaped my very childhood.

Unique Traditions at Specific Universities

Clemson University

Join the Clemson Family, and you join a tradition of tremendous impact. In 1977, Georgia Tech decided to stop playing football against Clemson. In a show of protest, students and alumni stamped $2 bills with Tiger Paws and used them in Atlanta to illustrate the money Tiger fans spent at athletic events. Today, Clemson fans still use $2 bills when attending away games to show the impact of the Clemson Family across the country. Known as the most exciting 25 seconds in college football, running down The Hill began out of practicality. The rock, originally from Death Valley, California, was first placed on a pedestal at the top of The Hill in 1966, but it did not become tradition until just before a football game against Wake Forest on September 23, 1967. Legendary coach Frank Howard told his players if they gave 110%, they could receive the privilege of rubbing the rock. During Clemson’s early military days, freshmen wore rat caps and waved them in the air during every football game. Since 1974, the First Friday Parade has heralded in each new football season. In 1942, student band director Dean Ross found the sheet music for “Tiger Rag” in an Atlanta music store and brought it back to campus to play at football games. Since 1896, Clemson graduates have taken pride in wearing their Clemson rings. Named for baseball coach R.T.V. Bowman, the coach of Clemson’s first sports team, the wide field separating campus from the town of Clemson originally served as the traditional parade ground for Clemson cadets, and it is still an unmistakable part of student life. The excitement, spirit and enthusiasm of Homecoming celebrations have been a Clemson tradition since 1914. During the week preceding the game, Clemson alumni from across the country return to campus. Student organizations build Homecoming displays and construct a house for Habitat for Humanity on Bowman Field. The last event is Tigerama, one of the nation’s largest student-run pep rallies. Clemson University founder Thomas Green Clemson died on April 6, 1888. To commemorate his contribution to the University, a Founder’s Day ceremony is held each year that includes a prayer service at St. Walk around campus and you’ll see names engraved on the sidewalks underfoot. In the 1950s, graduating seniors began raising money to build sidewalks, imprinting their names and, thereby, their legacy in them. Clemson Blue Cheese was first cured in the Stumphouse Tunnel outside Walhalla in 1941 by a Clemson dairy professor who recognized the tunnel’s perfect conditions for curing. In 1958, the curing process was moved to the Agricultural Center in Newman Hall. In the 1920s, Clemson’s then-departments of dairy science and animal husbandry began making the famously delicious Clemson ice cream.

University of Arkansas

As we approach the start of another baseball season at the University of Arkansas, we take an opportunity to look back at the genesis of traditions and factors that helped guide Razorback Baseball as one of the sport’s most storied programs. Before Baum Stadium opened in 1996, Razorback Baseball called George Cole Field home. Kevin Trainor, associate athletic director of public relations and baseball sport administrator: “Baseball had come a long way just at George Cole Field. It was a big deal when our former major leaguers, Kevin McReynolds, Tim Lollar and Johnny Ray, got together to contribute to add lights. Instead of playing during a Friday afternoon, we were able to host Texas on a Friday night and that just brought a different dynamic to the program. Norm DeBriyn, Razorback Baseball head coach, 1970-2002: “When you go back to George Cole Field - which was located where Fred W. Smith Football Center is currently situated - I wanted to renovate there because all we had was a field and two dugouts. It had no bathrooms and nothing else … nothing for the players to change into and no locker rooms. Dave Van Horn, Razorback Baseball head coach, 2003-present: “Baum Stadium was a big part of coming back here. Northwest Arkansas’ growth, the construction of an airport that we can use to fly in recruits, our ballpark and beautiful campus, playing in the best conference in the country … it all added up to me.

It may be hard to believe now, but there was a time when Razorback Baseball had a ‘run of the mill’ game experience. Norm DeBriyn: “We talked about spicing up the program some time ago, and John Leudtke, our pitching coach, found Larry for us. Kevin Trainor: “Larry wasn’t a baseball guy and I think that helped him in ways because traditional baseball people wouldn’t have come up with his ideas. Norm DeBriyn: “When Larry first came into our program, LSU Baseball was just a step above everybody else. During the first year we were at Baum Stadium and Larry Shank was with us, I can remember Skip Bertman, the LSU baseball coach who later became their athletic director, making a comment, ‘Where did you get this guy? Dave Van Horn: “Larry was incredible. He brought a lot of energy to the ballpark and he had a lot of personality. What he did for our program as far as getting out there on the balcony, putting himself out there a little bit and getting the crowd going … at other ballparks you see it start with the fans.

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RBI Girls

When Baum Stadium opened in 1996, it ushered in a new era of Razorback Baseball. With that new era came a new aspect to college baseball games that changed the fan experience as we know it. RBI Girls were introduced as a new branch of the Razorback spirit squads to give fans the added pageantry to the college baseball game that had never been seen before. Jean Nail, who spent 34 years as the University of Arkansas’ Director of Spirit Squads, helped spearhead the efforts to provide what ended up being one of the most innovative additions to the Razorback Baseball experience. When the RBI Girls took to the dugout for that first game in 1997, Arkansas became the first college baseball program to have something like it.

Brooke Bailey, former RBI Girl, current Razorback Spirit Squad Director: “All throughout my first year, I danced in front of football crowds that were really far away and you were projecting. Baseball was the same way, but at baseball, you’re so much closer to the fans. Jean Nail: “When we went out there for the first time, we definitely had some fans wondering, ‘What the heck is happening?’ There are fans, to this day, that when the girls get ready to get off the dugout, they’ll get helped down off the dugout so they won’t fall off. The RBI Girls utilize a large collection of themed dances throughout the season, which include coordinating costumes and props. Brooke Bailey: “When people come to games hoping to see a certain dance or hear a specific song, it means they’re invested in what you’re doing. Jean Nail: “We did a lot of thinking and asking questions about what we were going to do and how we were going to do it. Baseball is a family-friendly sport and we wanted to keep it that way, as baseball-oriented as we could get.

Brooke Bailey: “They (RBI Girls) love Razorback Baseball. Even when it’s not their game to perform, they’ll come and sit in the stands and be a part of it or want to fill in because it’s such a fun atmosphere for them. Jean Nail: “The girls come in excited about baseball and the fans are excited to see them. Fans have said it wouldn’t be the same without them. With the RBI Girls now entering their 20th season with Razorback Baseball, the group has become an integral part of game day at Baum Stadium and have helped pave the way for many other similar programs across the nation. Jean Nail: “You can’t talk about Razorback Baseball fans without talking about the loyalty and the love of the game. Brooke Bailey: “For me, when I walk into the stadium, I feel like my cares and stress goes away.

Beer Mug Hats

At Arkansas, a baseball tradition that has taken hold in the last decade is the donning of beer mug hats - predominantly yellow and white, and some with a touch of green or black - when the Razorbacks load the bases. Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said, “I started noticing it when you’ve got a group of guys down the first-base line with these goofy-looking hats on. And then we kind of started realizing they only put them on when we have the bases loaded. Now they’re all over the stadium. The tradition can be linked to a group of friends - Jim Tran, Heath Schluterman and Kyle Thompson - who have been attending baseball games since they were college roommates in the 2000s.

In 2008, Schulterman found beer mug hats while shopping in the $1 section at Target sometime around St. Patrick’s Day. According to Tran, Schluterman brought the hats to the ballpark and passed them around to his friends. Over the years, Tran said he would frequent the store at times around St. Patrick’s Day or Oktoberfest and buy however many hats were for sale. The tradition didn’t take hold right away and spread to other areas of the stadium slowly. Because Tran and his friends had cornered the market on the novelty hats being sold in Fayetteville, fans who wanted to purchase their own had trouble finding them anywhere but through online vendors. But over the years, more and more people arrived at the park with beer hats in hand. Tran said. It’s not uncommon now to see hundreds - if not thousands - in the stadium wearing the hats during bases-loaded situations. Tran and his friends even purchased a flag with beer mug hats to wave whenever the team scored with the bases loaded - a “beer run,” as he called it.

Tran said the hats have become common to see on road trips, especially at the College World Series when the Razorbacks are playing. He said he knows people who will put their hat on while watching a game on TV. “It gives people something to believe in, that this is a lucky hat or a lucky thing we’re all doing together as fans,” Tran said. It all began with a seemingly random purchase from the bargain aisle more than a decade ago. “We’re all about having fun and just enjoying the company we have when we have it,” Tran said. “It’s something that makes our stadium unique.

Opening Day Across MLB

Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years it has occasionally fallen in the last week of March. As of 2025, Opening Day falls on the last Thursday of March or the first Thursday of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book titled, Why Time Begins on Opening Day. Pre-season exhibition games are usually played in the month before Opening Day, during spring training. Equivalents to Opening Day occur throughout the sport, including minor leagues, college baseball, high school, and youth leagues. Because MLB generally begins its season earlier than the other professional baseball leagues, its Opening Day is the one most commonly recognized by the general public. Most minor leagues start a few days later, but within the same week; the short season Class A and Rookie leagues are exceptions, as they begin in June.

Cincinnati's Opening Day Traditions

For generations, Opening Day has arrived amid pageantry. In Cincinnati, home of the sport's first openly all-professional team, the annual Findlay Market Parade marks an official "city holiday" with young and old alike taking the day off to cheer on the Reds. For decades, the first pitch of every major league season officially took place in Cincinnati, and the Reds remain the only major league team scheduled to always open the season with a home game (the sole exceptions, since the beginning of the 20th century, being in 1966, when they started the season at Philadelphia after rain washed out the opening series in Cincinnati; 1990, when due to a lockout affecting the schedule they opened the season at Houston; and 2022, when another lockout led to their opening the season at Atlanta). The Chicago Cubs have been the Reds' most frequent Opening Day opponent, visiting Cincinnati for 36 season openers, most recently in 2007. The Pittsburgh Pirates, against whom the current Reds organization played their first opener in 1882, are a close second with 32, most recently in 2023; no other team has more than 19 (by the St.

Other Notable Opening Day Events

Since 1994 ESPN has often televised a regular-season game the night before "Opening Day" and recent years have seen the staging of season-opening series in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan, and Australia. While these are technically "opening games", Major League Baseball still reserves the title "Opening Day" for the first day in which multiple games are played. Opening Day is a state of mind as well, with countless baseball fans known to recognize this unofficial holiday as a good reason to call in sick at work or be truant from school (as most teams typically play their home opener on a weekday afternoon) and go out to the ballpark for the first of 162 regular season games. Teams' home openers serve as the only regular season games during the year in which the entire rosters of both teams as well as coaches and clubhouse staff are introduced to the crowd prior to the games; for the rest of the year, ballparks only introduce the starting lineups and the teams' managers. Prior to Opening Day, the teams' managers have to decide the starting pitchers for the game, an assignment typically given to the ace of each team's staff. For a pitcher to start on Opening Day is considered an honor, regardless of whether they are on the home or visiting team. Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn, who played for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, once said: "An opener is not like any other game. There's that little extra excitement, a faster beating of the heart. You have that anxiety to get off to a good start, for yourself and for the team.

Memorable Moments in Opening Day History

In 1907, the New York Giants forfeited their game at the Polo Grounds to the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-0, after rowdy fans made and threw snowballs. In 1940, Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller threw a no-hitter to open the season against the Chicago White Sox. Presidents have thrown the ceremonial first pitch of the season. Harry S. Truman threw first pitches with both his right and left arm in 1950. On April 4, 1994, Bill Clinton inaugurated the Cleveland Indians' new ballpark, then known as Jacobs Field and now as Progressive Field, with the first pitch. In 14 season openers for the Washington Senators, Walter Johnson pitched a record nine shutouts. On March 29, 2018, Matt Davidson of the Chicago White Sox hit three home runs in his team's opener against the Kansas City Royals at Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium.

Interleague and Marathon Games

The first interleague Opening Day game was played between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (AL) and the Cincinnati Reds (NL) on April 1, 2013 at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park. The longest Opening Day game in major league history was played on April 5, 2012 between the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays. The game, played at Cleveland's Progressive Field, ended with the Blue Jays beating the Indians, 7-4, in 16 innings. The previous record for longest Opening Day game was on April 19, 1960, at Cleveland Stadium. That game, lasting 15 innings, also saw the Indians in a losing effort, 4-2, versus the Detroit Tigers.

Doubleheaders and Pitching Feats

On rare occasions, predominantly in the early 20th century, a team would open its home season with a doubleheader. In 1968, Greg Washburn, a pitcher in the California Angels organization, pitched two Opening Day games in the same year-first for the San Jose Bees of the California League, and then for the Quad City Angels of the Midwest League. Washburn won both openers 2-0.

Scheduling Quirks

Major League Baseball had most of its teams open the 2011 season on a Thursday (March 31) or Friday (April 1) rather than the traditional Monday, in order to prevent the World Series from extending into November. Similarly, most teams opened the 2012 season on Thursday (April 5) or Friday (April 6). However, subsequent seasons through 2017 returned to Monday openers for most teams. The 2023 Major League Baseball season opened on Thursday, March 30. It was the first time since 1968 that all major league teams played and the first opening day that 30 teams played as there were only 20 teams in 1968. The opening of the 2024 season occurred on Thursday, March 28th; 28 of the 30 teams played their first game of the season, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres having played their opening game March 20 at the Gocheok Sky Dome in South Korea. The opening of the 2025 season occurred on Thursday, March 27th; 26 of the 30 teams played their first game of the season, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs having played their opening game March 18 at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, and the Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays opening their season on Friday, March 28 at the Rays' temporary home of George M.

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