Folded up and stuffed on a shelf in the McGraw Paige Library is a symbol of one of Randolph-Macon’s proudest traditions. It’s a ratty, old, coffee-stained T-shirt from 1993. It is completely unremarkable to most people, but to the R-MC Community, it’s priceless. The shirt commemorates 100 years of rivalry between Randolph-Macon College and Hampden-Sydney College. It shows a yellow jacket and tiger back-to-back with the words “A Century of Competition” emblazoned beneath them. The back is signed by the RMC football team with their nicknames and numbers. The shirt was on display in the bookstore for years before it found its way to a shelf in the archives and was forgotten.

Randolph-Macon and Hampden-Sydney first met on the football field in 1893. The rivalry is steeped in tradition and widely known as “The oldest rivalry in the south”. The winner receives “The Yellow Jacket - Tiger Cup” and the most desirable prize in college sports. Ultimate bragging rights. By 1993 the rivalry had grown from a football game into a week of festivities, pranks, and challenges. In the 50s and 60s, the RMC team would post all the freshman around campus the week of the game to guard it against the H-SC boys. There would also be a bonfire at the future sight of the McGraw Paige Library. Freshman were tasked with collecting firewood and piling it in the field. They would then parade around Ashland in their pajamas while carrying torches, eventually ending up at the wood pile to light the fire. By the 70s, the schools decided to add in academic, philanthropic, and athletic contests to the week. Both schools hosted blood drives, aluminum can recycling contests, academic bowls, tug-of-war, and intermural soccer and football games.

The 100^thanniversary game was played at R-MC on November 13^th, 1993. On that particular day it was a balmy 86 degrees with stormy skies. Fitting conditions for a showdown between the Yellow Jackets and Tigers. Bookstore manager Barclay DuPriest organized a tunnel of fans for the football team to run through as they approached the field. Head Coach Joe Riccio lead his team out of the locker room to thunderous cheers and applause. Not only was it the 100^thyear celebration, but if R-MC won, they would be the conference champions in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). Roughly 8,500 people attended “The Game” in 1993, many sporting the iconic T-shirt now in the library archives. Alumni from both schools return for the game every year. And wherever there are alumni, football, and commemorative shirts, one thing is sure to follow. Tailgating. By 1993, the tailgates were actually more popular that most football games at R-MC. In an effort to get more people in the stands (and fewer drunk in the parking lot), the administration actively tried to ban tailgating that year. The students, alumni, and many faculty went ballistic. Administrators attempted to backtrack, announcing a new policy allowing tailgating until the end of halftime. This was still a wildly unpopular decision. However, the administration had a plan to distract everyone. In honor of the anniversary, four parachutists from Fort Bragg fell from the sky to deliver the game ball and the American flag the field. This was followed by the National Anthem performed by Alitash Williams (R-MC Class of 95).

The game ended with a R-MC victory, 17-10! Several overenthusiastic and unidentified students celebrated by tearing down the goal posts. Coach Riccio didn’t mind, saying “If we win a conference [title] every year I would be happy to buy a goal post every year.” Following the game, the team got together and grabbed a spare game T-shirt. They each signed it and presented it to Ms. Barclay to display in the bookstore with their hard-won trophy.