The Ritual of Game Day
From Knoxville to every campus in between, fall football continues to define sport, fashion, and fandom.
This week on The Laureate Edit: We step into the return of college football, a season that has always carried the feeling of fresh starts, cooler air, and the unmatched energy of Saturdays spent in stadiums. From the pageantry of College GameDay to the rise of game day style and the new technologies shaping how fans experience it all, this week’s piece explores how fall football continues to influence sports, fashion, entertainment, and even the business of the game
Fall has always felt like a reset for me. The air cools, the light turns crisp, wardrobes shift, and schedules tighten. More than anything, fall sounds like voices in unison. I think of walking toward a stadium with friends and strangers who feel like friends. I have loved many sports, but nothing beats a Saturday in Knoxville. A sea of orange. “Rocky Top” echoing over the river. That drumline rhythm you feel in your ribs before you ever reach your seat.
I learned early that college football is less a pastime and more a weekly pilgrimage. The march to the stadium, the same coffee order, the same superstitious socks, and that moment when the band hits and the stadium roars. Neyland Stadium is still evolving with phased renovations that run through Fall 2026, but the energy remains unmistakable .
How Game Day shaped sports, entertainment, fashion, and technology
Entertainment. ESPN’s College GameDay transformed a regional ritual into a national stage. The campus set, the signs, and the personalities helped define how the nation talks about the sport, and the show continues to evolve. This season opens in Columbus for Texas at Ohio State, with a sendoff and tribute for the legend Lee Corso. The moment feels like a passing of the torch and shows how both the show and the sport keep finding ways to renew themselves .
Fashion. Game day style has grown into a category of its own. It is no longer just jerseys and hoodies, but full looks that read from fifty yards away. Coordinated sets in school colors, western details, sporty mini dresses, oversized graphics, and tailored layers carry fans from tailgates to dinner. Style guides for 2025 point to matching sets, retro twists, and polished athleisure that can survive a four quarter day while looking sharp in every photo .
Technology. Stadium entry is changing quickly. Florida is introducing facial authentication Express Entry at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the first college venue to adopt the system. Faster entrances mean less time in lines and more time inside the atmosphere. Other programs are expected to follow as these systems scale .
The business of the sport. The House v. NCAA settlement opened the door for schools to pay athletes directly. That means game day is now a platform for paid performers whose brands extend from the tunnel to your feed. Fans will see NIL and revenue sharing reflected in signage, activations, and roster decisions. College football has entered a new economic era, and it is reshaping everything from pregame features to postgame storytelling .
Digital presentation. The spectacle of the sport now lives as much in broadcast and gaming as in the stadium itself. EA Sports College Football 26 has retooled its presentation and pageantry to capture the cadence, crowd shots, and band energy that define live college football . The digital game shows how central the live rituals have become, and then sends those traditions back to the screen for a new generation.
The 2025 backdrop
Power conferences continue to jostle for playoff control and scheduling advantages. That tug of war will shape which campuses become the epicenters of the season and which storylines dominate the fall .
What I will be watching this season
The mood around College GameDay in Week 1, especially how the show honors its past while setting a new tone for the season .
The rollout of biometric entry systems and whether they truly reduce wait times in measurable ways .
NIL activations on site and whether brand partnerships feel elevated rather than overwhelming .
The evolution of game day fashion, from coordinated sets that work at noon to western accents that define SEC Saturdays .
The way broadcast and gaming frame the band, the light shows, and the atmosphere as central characters in the story .
The ongoing renovations at Neyland and how they affect sightlines, concourses, and the walk along the river .
A personal note on Rocky Top
Some places feel like a promise. Walking along the Tennessee River with the band warming up, orange everywhere, and voices rising in unison has always felt like a first page. Saturdays at Rocky Top are the days that remind me what community feels like when people show up for the same song at the same time.
Here is to cool mornings, late sunsets, good neighbors in the next section, and a season that lives up to the sound.