Helmet Promo Video

GREENVILLE, S.C. – In a nod to its past the Furman Paladins will don silver helmets in select games this year for the first time since the 1970s, and the program will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its iconic Diamond F logo.

Made possible by a generous gift from a Furman football supporter, two versions of the Riddell Speed Flex, silver chrome helmet (click here for photo gallery), complete with convert-to-black interior parts and bumpers, are now part of the Paladin inventory — one with a purple Diamond F and another sporting a black Diamond F.  "FU" will be featured on the right side opposite the Diamond F, along with player jersey numbers and the program's "FU All The Time" slogan on the back.

"We thought this would be a terrific way to honor the 1973 team and others that wore the helmet from 1973-77," said head coach Clay Hendrix.  "The '73 squad (which went 7-3 following a 2-9 finish the year before) was voted the most improved team in the country by Sports Illustrated and had a huge hand in ushering in the championship tradition of Furman football.  We will wear them in our first game with our all black uniforms.

"We love our traditional purple and white uniforms, and they will continue to be our primary choice."

Furman football's dramatic turnaround in 1973 came under then-new head coach Art Baker, whose staff included assistant coach Dick Sheridan.  Credited with conceptualizing and spearheading the introduction of the silver helmets and Diamond F, which debuted that season, Sheridan enlisted the assistance of then-Furman junior art major Dennis Zeiger for $25 to help bring his concept to fruition.

Named head coach in 1978, Sheridan's first team became the first to wear white helmets sporting the purple Diamond F.  Furman won the Southern Conference championship that season — its first of six league titles achieved under Sheridan — on the way to the program's league best 14 crowns.

"Coach Sheridan embodied class and excellence and was an incredible representative of Furman University," added Hendrix, who played for Sheridan from 1982-85.  "I still remember him each year talking about the Diamond and what it represented for our school and football program.   He would speak of how it represented a combination of toughness and class.   Diamonds are used to cut steel, and yet they are a symbol of class and excellence.   For 50 years, we have done our best to continue that great tradition."

Since its creation, the Diamond F has been copied (and letters changed) by numerous high school football teams in the Southeast, oftentimes by former Furman players now in the coaching ranks.