Baylor Line Named Best Walk-Out Tradition by USA Today’s Readers’ Choice Awards

WACO, Texas – The Baylor Line has been named the Best Walk-Out Tradition by the USA Today Sports’ 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards, as announced Wednesday morning.

A fan-voted award, the Baylor Line was named the top pre-game tradition in college football out of a group of 20 nominees. Each of the top-10 vote-getters were selected as winners, though the Baylor Line was confirmed as receiving the most votes. 

Running strong for over five decades, the Baylor Line sees all incoming first-year students rush the field at McLane Stadium to form a human tunnel ahead of the football team’s entrance. Each student wears a gold jersey that displays their graduation year and chosen nickname on the back. Once the team has taken the field, The Line takes their seats in an exclusive section behind the opponent’s bench to cheer on the Bears.

The Baylor Line beat out Auburn’s Tiger Walk/War Eagle flight to earn the crown, while Penn State’s “White Out” Walkout, Iowa’s Swarm and Texas A&M’s “Power” rounded out the top five.

Nominations were carefully curated by a panel of USA Today Sports editors before being voted on by the public.

2026 USA TODAY SPORTS READERS CHOICE AWARDS

Best Walk-Out Tradition Nominees:

1. Baylor – Baylor Line

2. Auburn – Tiger Walk/War Eagle Flight

3. Penn State – The “White Out” Walkout

4. Iowa – Swarm

5. Texas A&M – “Power”

6. South Carolina – 2001: A Space Odyssey

7. Colorado – Running Ralphie

8. USC – Sword Plunge

9. Tennessee – Running Through the T

10. Virginia Tech – Enter Sandman