In college football the home team wears color and the visitor wears white. LSU flips it, and has for most of the last 68 years. On Saturday No. 8 Texas comes to Tiger Stadium, and LSU is expected in its home whites, which would put the Longhorns in burnt orange on the road instead of their usual white.
So why does LSU wear white at home? It started with one coach in 1958, it was banned by the NCAA for 12 seasons, and it came back because another coach went around the country lobbying for it. Here is the full history, the rule that makes it possible, when LSU still wears purple at home, and what to expect against Texas.
Quick Answers
- Why does LSU wear white at home? Head coach Paul Dietzel put LSU in white for home games in 1958. LSU won the national championship that season, and the superstitious Dietzel never changed back.
- Did LSU always wear white at home? No. An NCAA rule adopted in 1982 required home teams to wear dark jerseys, and LSU wore purple at every home game from 1983 through 1994.
- How did LSU get the whites back? Coach Gerry DiNardo petitioned the rules committee and met with each member in person. LSU returned to white at home in 1995.
- Is it allowed now? Yes. NCAA rules let the home team wear white if both teams agree before the season, and in SEC games the home team decides on its own.
- Does LSU ever wear purple at home? Yes. Since 2000, LSU has worn purple for non-conference home games other than the home opener. That is exactly what it did in 2026: white for Clemson, purple for Louisiana Tech and McNeese.
- What will LSU wear against Texas? White is expected. Nothing is announced yet, and LSU usually reveals its look during game week.
- Our take (opinion): the home whites are the best tradition in college football uniforms. Every visitor brings its best color to Death Valley, and LSU still looks like LSU.
What LSU Wears Against Texas
Saturday, November 14, 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, at Tiger Stadium. LSU has worn white at home against all three SEC visitors this season, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Alabama, plus Clemson in the opener. If it stays in white, Texas has to wear burnt orange on the road, one of the only times all season the Longhorns leave Austin in color. We will update this page when either team posts its uniform. Every game this week is in our College Football Week 11 uniform guide, and the full season is on the LSU 2026 uniform schedule and the Texas 2026 uniform schedule.
1958: Paul Dietzel Puts LSU In White
A sold-out Tiger Stadium for the 2026 opener against Clemson, via @LSUfootball
In 1958, head coach Paul Dietzel chose white jerseys for LSU's home games. That season LSU went on to win the national championship. LSU's own history describes Dietzel as a superstitious man, and after a title in white he was not about to go back to purple. The home whites stayed through the rest of his tenure and through the Charlie McClendon era that followed.
You will see a lot of reasons offered for why Dietzel made the switch in the first place: the Louisiana heat, the idea that dark-jerseyed opponents look heavier, even that white is easier for teammates to spot. We could not find any of those in a reliable source, so we are not claiming them. What the record supports is the part that matters: LSU won in white, and LSU kept it.
1983 To 1994: Twelve Seasons In Purple
LSU in purple at home against McNeese on October 3, 2026, via @LSUfootball
In 1982 the NCAA adopted a rule requiring home teams to wear dark jerseys. Some later accounts date the rule to 1983, the first season it changed what LSU wore. Either way, the effect was the same: LSU wore purple at every home game from 1983 through 1994, 12 straight seasons. (Even before the rule, coach Jerry Stovall had sometimes put LSU in purple at home so fans could see a different color.)
LSU tried to get an exception. In 1993, for the program's football centennial, coach Curley Hallman asked the NCAA to let LSU wear white at home again. The NCAA said no.
1995: Gerry DiNardo Gets The Whites Back
When Gerry DiNardo became LSU's coach in 1995, he made the home whites a project. He petitioned the rules committee and, according to LSU, personally met with each member of the NCAA Football Rules Committee. It worked. The rule was changed so a home team could wear white if the visiting team agreed, and LSU went back to white at home in 1995.
The first home game back in white was a good one. On September 16, 1995, an unranked LSU team beat a top-10 Auburn team, 12-6, in Tiger Stadium.
The new rule still let visitors say no, and the first team to do it was Vanderbilt, DiNardo's former school. LSU could not wear white, and instead of purple it wore gold. Saturday Down South dates that game to 1996, a 35-0 LSU win. Gold jerseys have been rare at LSU ever since.
Inside the SEC, the visitor's veto did not last. The conference later gave the home team sole say over its jersey color in league games; Saturday Down South dates that change to 1997.
The Rule Today
The NCAA football rulebook still starts from the old default: the visiting team wears white. The exception is the one DiNardo won. The home team may wear white if both teams agree in writing before the season. In SEC conference games, the home team chooses without needing the visitor's permission, which is why every SEC team that comes to Baton Rouge expects to wear color.
Outside the SEC, the visitor's right still matters. That is why some non-conference games at Tiger Stadium go differently, and why LSU's schedule is not white every week.
When LSU Still Wears Purple At Home
LSU in the home whites against Alabama on November 7, 2026, via @LSUfootball
LSU's own policy, in place since Nick Saban arrived in 2000 and kept by Les Miles, is simple: purple for non-conference home games, except the home opener. SEC games and the opener get white.
The 2026 season has followed that pattern exactly:
| Date | Opponent | LSU wore | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 5 | Clemson (home opener) | White | LSU 51-10 |
| Sept. 12 | Louisiana Tech | Purple | LSU 45-14 |
| Sept. 26 | Texas A&M (SEC) | White | LSU 35-6 |
| Oct. 3 | McNeese | Purple | LSU 63-14 |
| Oct. 17 | Mississippi State (SEC) | White | LSU 31-0 |
| Nov. 7 | Alabama (SEC) | White | Alabama 31-13 |
| Nov. 14 | Texas (SEC) | White expected | Saturday |
That pattern is the insight most uniform coverage misses: LSU's purple home games are not random. They are the non-conference dates after the opener. The full list, with every helmet, jersey and pants combination, is on our LSU 2026 uniform schedule.
One more strange case: on October 10, 2015, LSU played South Carolina in Tiger Stadium after flooding in Columbia forced the game to move. It stayed a South Carolina home game on paper. South Carolina took white, so LSU wore purple in its own stadium, with white helmets and white pants for the first time. Fox Sports called it LSU's first purple jersey at home in SEC play since 1994.
LSU's Biggest Wins In White
The whites are not just a home look. LSU wore white when it beat Ohio State for the 2007 BCS national championship in the Superdome, and its media guide that year noted LSU had worn white in seven straight bowl games. The last bowl in purple before that streak was a 28-14 win over Georgia Tech in the 2000 Peach Bowl.
Who Else Wears White At Home?
Very few programs do it on purpose. The Reveille, LSU's student newspaper, calls LSU one of the few college programs that wear white at home. In the NFL, the closest comparison is Dallas, which wears white for eight of nine home games in 2026; we explain that in why the Cowboys wear white at home. For how jersey choices work in general, see who decides which uniforms teams wear each game.
Our Take
Most home-white teams do it for the weather. LSU does it because of a title, a superstition and a coach who would not take no for an answer, and that makes it the best uniform tradition in the sport. It also makes Tiger Stadium one of the best-looking places in football: Alabama in crimson, Texas A&M in maroon, Clemson in orange, and on Saturday, if LSU sticks with tradition, Texas in burnt orange. Keep the purple for the non-conference games. White is LSU.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does LSU wear white at home?
Coach Paul Dietzel started it in 1958, and LSU won the national championship that season. Dietzel was superstitious and kept the white. An NCAA rule forced LSU into purple from 1983 to 1994, until Gerry DiNardo got the rule changed and LSU went back to white in 1995.
When did LSU start wearing white at home?
In 1958, under head coach Paul Dietzel.
Why did LSU stop wearing white at home?
An NCAA rule adopted in 1982 required home teams to wear dark jerseys. LSU wore purple at every home game from 1983 through 1994.
Who brought back LSU's home white jerseys?
Gerry DiNardo, LSU's coach from 1995. He petitioned the rules committee and met with each member of the NCAA Football Rules Committee. LSU returned to white at home in 1995 and beat Auburn 12-6 in its first home game back in white.
Is LSU allowed to wear white at home?
Yes. NCAA rules let the home team wear white if both teams agree in writing before the season. In SEC games, the home team chooses its jersey color on its own.
Why does LSU sometimes wear purple at home?
LSU's policy since 2000 is purple for non-conference home games, except the home opener. In 2026 that meant purple against Louisiana Tech and McNeese, and white against Clemson in the opener.
What will LSU wear against Texas?
White is expected, with the gold helmet and gold pants. LSU has not announced it yet. If LSU wears white, Texas wears its burnt orange jersey on the road.
What color does Texas wear at LSU?
Texas usually wears white on the road, but because LSU wears white at home, the Longhorns are expected in burnt orange in Baton Rouge on November 14.
Has LSU ever worn gold jerseys?
Rarely. LSU wore gold when Vanderbilt refused to let it wear white (Saturday Down South dates that game to 1996), and again for the "Gridiron Gold" game against Mississippi State in 2016.
What does LSU wear on the road?
Usually white too, because SEC hosts wear their colors at home. LSU wore white at Ole Miss and Auburn in 2026.
More LSU And College Football Uniform Coverage
- LSU 2026 uniform schedule: every game, every combination
- Texas 2026 uniform schedule
- College Football Week 11 uniforms: Texas at LSU and every Top 25 game
- The 10 worst college football uniforms ever, ranked
- Why do the Cowboys wear white at home?
Sources: LSU Athletics, "Football to Wear Traditional White Jerseys in BCS Game" (December 2007, from the LSU football media guide); Cory Nightingale, Saturday Down South (February 19, 2016); Greg Atoms, 1130 The Tiger (September 20, 2019); The Reveille (Kennedi Landry, September 12, 2019); Fox Sports (October 10, 2015); FBSchedules.com on the 2015 South Carolina game; the NCAA football rulebook, Rule 1 (team jerseys). 2026 uniforms from LSU's game broadcasts and team photos, logged on our LSU schedule page. ColorWay Sports is an independent design site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by LSU, the Southeastern Conference or the NCAA.
