A rewarding, full-circle moment unfolded Saturday: A rowdy bunch of shirtless fans at Indiana’s sold-out Memorial Stadium, cheering on the No. 2-ranked Hoosiers in a blowout victory over UCLA, chanting “We want Bama!” in unison.
It was just four years ago, in 2021, when perpetually hapless Indiana football was mired in a 2-10 season. A previous group of shirtless Hoosiers fans congregated during a November home loss to Rutgers, commiserating more than celebrating in a half-empty stadium. Only a few seasons later, Indiana has emerged as a legitimate national championship contender, its fans literally and figuratively beating their bare chests with pride, beckoning all challengers — even those in the SEC.
The shirtless dudes are back, and the Hoosiers have come a long way. It’s a college football fairytale.
“WE WANT BAMA”
The shirtless Indiana section is going crazy pic.twitter.com/lQPJa2ncNb
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 25, 2025
It’s bigger than Bloomington, too. Sections of shirtless dudes have taken the sport by storm this month. Indiana had its viral moment in 2021, but this season’s trend started at Oklahoma State. During the Cowboys’ joyless loss to Houston on Oct. 11, Trent Eaton’s sister offered him $10 to go to deserted Section 231 of Boone Pickens Stadium, take off his shirt and twirl it over his head. Eaton, a 40-year-old Oklahoma State fan, shrugged his shoulders and went for it. By the end of the game, hundreds of shirtless brethren had joined in on the revelry, stretching across four sections and making headlines.
“It wasn’t to be an idiot,” Eaton told The Athletic. “Whether people were laughing at me or with me, as long as it made someone’s day better, I’m all for it.”
Two weeks later, the trend is still going strong. Oklahoma State leaned in, running it back last week during a homecoming loss to Cincinnati with “Section 2 No-Shirty 1.” Similar shirtless sections have cropped up at UCLA, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Washington State, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Texas Tech, North Carolina, Florida International, Oregon and more, no longer reserved for only the down-bad fan bases. From Pullman, Wash., to Lubbock, Texas, to Blacksburg, Va., swarms of male fans are banding together and going tarps off.
Winners and losers. Young and old. Svelte and schlubby. All embracing the “guys being dudes” mantra.
College football is solving the male loneliness epidemic with Shirtless Dude Sections. pic.twitter.com/Kcad6HzUeS
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) October 25, 2025
The jokes write themselves.
“The guy that started the Oklahoma State shirtless section may have inadvertently solved the male loneliness epidemic,” Lucy Rohden, a college football personality and content creator tweeted on Friday night, as a horde of shirtless enthusiasm fueled Virginia Tech to a double-overtime comeback win on a chilly night in Lane Stadium.
Hokies wide receiver Takye Heath, who caught the game-winning touchdown, commented on it after the game, saying the team noticed. “They were acting crazy,” Heath said.
Indiana star quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Oklahoma State interim coach Doug Meacham acknowledged it as well in their respective stadiums.
Eaton, the Oklahoma State originator, said that once the shirtless group grew to about 20 a couple of weeks ago in Stillwater, “I was pretty sure the FOMO would kick in and people would start joining just to say they did it.”
That sentiment has gone to an extreme, manspreading its way across the country. And perhaps there is something deeper at play. The trope of male loneliness is a common one, whether played for comedic effect, analyzed for its debilitating impact on society, or both. Four years ago — on the very same day Indiana and its shirtless fans lost to Rutgers, in fact — “Saturday Night Live” aired a sketch dubbed Man Park, about a dog park where guys can make friends.
This past May, The New York Times published an essay titled: “Where Have All My Deep Male Friendships Gone?” It cited a 2024 study by the Survey Center on American Life that claimed only 26 percent of men reported having six or more close friends.
“The notion that men in this country suck at friendship is so widespread that it has become a truism, a punchline,” wrote the essay’s author, Sam Graham-Felsen.
Maybe that’s what is going on here: Throngs of emotionally repressed men, using the communal nature of college football as an excuse to shed their shirts and inhibitions in a therapeutic expression of male bonding. Or maybe it’s a bunch of drunk guys who want to let it breathe and watch some ball.
IT’S A NAKED DUCK @TheOregonDuck pic.twitter.com/RkeByzjciU
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 26, 2025
Either way, there’s something wholesome about this movement, despite the partial nudity. Sports, at their core, are about community. College football especially so. It’s about the traditions. It’s about where you went to school; the city or state you grew up in; the program your family roots for; the team you randomly adopted and the kinship that blossoms from it, whether virtual or in the flesh.
Earlier this week, Chris Branch, who writes The Athletic’s daily Pulse newsletter, opined about his love of in-person sporting events, writing: “I could give a TED Talk on how live sporting events are the last place in our society where 50,000-100,000 people, of theoretically mixed political backgrounds, come together to root for a single cause. There is power in that.”
It’s true, and it’s the best part of this trend. There’s nothing novel about male sports fans taking off their shirts at a game. It’s been happening for decades — centuries, probably — at events of every stripe, all across the globe. The same camaraderie could also be shared and enjoyed while fully clothed. But in a college football landscape that is constantly being reshaped by money, in a country inundated by hate and division, it’s nice to have something lighthearted that brings people together. No matter how ridiculous.
Like anything in today’s culture, this shirtless fad runs the risk of getting played out, or co-opted for some controversial cause. Football has always invited the meathead, “bro” stereotype, but there are ways for others to participate, and they should feel welcome if they want to, comfortably and on their own terms.
Credit to Oklahoma State women’s basketball coach Jacie Hoyt for getting in on the action, joining the shirtless Pokes last week while sporting a white T-shirt that read “SHIRTLESS.”
Dear Shirtless Guys,
Me again! Thanks for welcoming me in last night and treating me like one of the guys. A new core memory for me and America’s Greatest Homecoming. Looking forward to getting together again at many @OSUWBB games #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/zgZPlbMhxv— Jacie Hoyt (@CoachJacie) October 19, 2025
But whether it’s curing male loneliness, healing a fractured nation, or purely a fun, liquid-encouraged way to spend a Saturday at the game, thus far, it’s been an exceedingly fun and positive experience for college football. That’s worth appreciating while it lasts.
“If a guy has a chance to take off his shirt and have a little fun, make a fool of himself, he’ll do it,” said Eaton.
Guys being dudes. What’s better than that?
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