Before each home game, Osceola charges down the field on Renegade, a gorgeous Appaloosa, and plants a blazing spear at midfield, arguably the best show in college football. This custom pays homage to Florida’s legendary Seminole Tribe.
The tradition began on Sept. 16, 1978, when a student dressed as the famed Seminole warrior Osceola rode out of the tunnel on a horse, leading the Seminoles into battle against Oklahoma State. Jim Kidder, riding Renegade I, was the first pupil to depict Osceola. Six different Renegades and 16 different riders have made the journey and planted the spear since then, bringing the game day audience to their feet. The 17th Osceola takes to the field aboard Renegade in 2018, marking the 40th anniversary of the Osceola and Renegade partnership.
The Osceola and Renegade traditions were created by Bill Durham, a 1965 FSU graduate. After getting authorization from the Seminole Tribe of Florida, he started the tradition at Florida State University in 1978. The Durham family provides the lovely Appaloosa horses for the program, and with the help of the Renegade Team, has directed the Osceola and Renegade program from its start. The Seminole Tribe of Florida has approved Osceola’s regalia, which is created for authenticity.
Osceola and Renegade were voted the finest NCAA Football Tradition in the country by ESPN’s SportsNation prior to the 2011 season. During the Oklahoma game on Sept. 17, 2011, a framed image of the spear plant was handed to the Durham family. The Moore Athletics Center presently houses that rendering.
Osceola and Renegade made their second appearance at a National Championship Game in 2013, traveling to Pasadena, California, to watch the Seminoles win their third national championship. Osceola and Renegade also played in the 1993 Orange Bowl, where Florida State earned its first national championship.
