Tifos: An Uncommon Gameday Tradition

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A giant student-designed and produced banner with an Italian name and Greek roots that originated in European soccer leagues was one of the latest Uncommon gameday traditions introduced at Razorback football games last year.

Tifos – the abbreviated Italian word for tifosi which means “fan”, and derived from the Greek root thifos, translated as “to be delirious with fever” – are 6,000-square-foot themed tarps that are unfurled near the top of the lower level in the student section of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium before methodically making its way down to the field.

Five tifos were created and displayed in front of as many as 72,000 fans when the football team ran through the A during pre-game festivities. To give you an idea of the scale of gameday tifos, these are most likely larger than your house:

Last season, 10 University of Arkansas sororities were grouped into five teams of two and took on the challenge of turning this larger-than-life idea into reality. At the conclusion of the regular season, an online vote was tallied to determine the fan’s favorite and to determine which team’s philanthropies would receive a generous donation from Razorback Athletics.

The winners were the Arkansas chapters of the Delta Delta Delta and Phi Mu sororities who conceived of, and developed, their Big Red-themed “Call Those Hogs” tifo which won 37 percent of the fan vote.

As Arkansas heads into the thick of its Southeastern Conference slate, 10 new Arkansas sororities have volunteered to work on this season’s tifos. Two have already made their debut, having been unfurled during the Louisiana Tech and Texas State home games.

The creative possibilities for each gameday tifo are endless and with No. 1 Alabama, No. 14 Ole Miss, No. 18 Florida and LSU playing at DWRRS this season, expect surprises from this season’s creations in the coming weeks.