Why do Alabama, Tennessee players smoke cigars? Explaining SEC rivals' tradition John Leuzzi, USA TODAY NETWORKOctober 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM 0 Why do Alabama, Tennessee players smoke cigars? Explaining SEC rivals' tradition College football is a sport defined by rivalries and traditions.
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John Leuzzi, USA TODAY NETWORKOctober 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM
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Why do Alabama, Tennessee players smoke cigars? Explaining SEC rivals' tradition
College football is a sport defined by rivalries and traditions.
There's the Hawkeye Wave at the conclusion of the first quarter at Iowa football home games. There's the Penn State Whiteout that creates a sea of white in Beaver Stadium. There is "Jump Around" going into the fourth quarter of Wisconsin football home games.
Then there is one of the sport's more distinct postgame traditions that will be on full display following the conclusion of No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 11 Tennessee in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night: the postgame puff show from the "Third Saturday in October" cigar tradition.
Here's what to know about the Alabama-Tennessee cigar tradition:
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Why do Alabama, Tennessee football players smoke cigars after game?
It's a simple answer, actually: it's a way for the winning team of the "Third Saturday in October" rivalry game between Alabama and Tennessee to celebrate the win, and a long-lasting tradition between both programs.
The tradition of the Crimson Tide and Vols violates NCAA rules, as well, since the organization prohibits tobacco products.
Here is a look at Tennessee wide receiver Chris Braswell II smoking his victory cigar after the Vols' 24-17 upset win over then-No. 7 Alabama last year in Knoxville:
Game winner and a victory cigar for Chris Brazzell, smoke em if you got em! #VOLS pic.twitter.com/7VaPTHSbRp
— Griffin Hadley (@griffinhadley_) October 20, 2024
The tradition took a bit of an interesting turn last December in the first round of the College Football Playoff when Ohio State center Seth McLaughlin, who transferred from Alabama that previous offseason, smoked a cigar on the Buckeyes' sideline after their win over Tennessee. McLaughlin didn't play in the CFP first-round game vs. Tennessee due to injury, but he didn't pass up on the opportunity to smoke a cigar for beating the Vols.
Seth McLaughlin smoking a cigar on Ohio State's sideline pic.twitter.com/VfM94Tt70z
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 22, 2024
Alabama-Tennessee cigar tradition, explained
The tradition dates back to the early start of the modern era of college football (post-1936).
As noted by the Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, the tradition began in 1961 during the Paul W. "Bear" Bryant era in Tuscaloosa. The famed Alabama coach, however, does not have his fingerprints on starting the tradition, nor does any player who played for Alabama back then.
Instead, the architect behind the tradition is former Alabama athletic trainer Jim Goostree. The legend goes that following Alabama's 34-3 win over Tennessee in 1961, Goostree handed out cigars to Alabama players to celebrate their first win over the Vols since 1954. The Crimson Tide had dropped five games in six years against the Vols from 1955-1961, with a 7-7 tie in 1959 as the outlier.
Since then, the tradition has grown on both ends, as Tennessee adopted it over the years. The Vols, however, haven't smoked the cigars as much as the Crimson Tide have, as Alabama leads the all-time series 42-19-2 (including the 1993 tie and 2005 Alabama win that were vacated by the NCAA) since the tradition began.
But who provides the cigars to Alabama and Tennessee?
For Tennessee, Nashville-based Ozgener Family Cigars provided the Vols with Cigars ahead of their historic 2022 win over the Crimson Tide in Knoxville, which snapped a 15-game losing skid, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network.
As noted by the Tuscaloosa News, R&R Cigars in Tuscaloosa provides cigars for the Crimson Tide, and have done so since the mid-2010s thanks to a relationship started by R&R Cigars owner Regan Starner and then-Alabama offensive assistant Mike Locksley.
"To me it's a classy tradition. They're not setting mattresses on fire like they do in Morgantown (West Virginia), or some of the others," Starner told the Tuscaloosa News in 2022. "You see them being an adult, doing an adult thing, smoking a cigar."
Thanks for having us out @AlabamaFTBL hope y'all enjoy the cigars! ROLL TIDE! pic.twitter.com/5sO2kdMH29
— R&R Cigars (@RandRCigars) October 15, 2025
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alabama vs Tennessee football cigar tradition explained
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