Florida State Football Sod Cemetery
Florida State Football Sod Cemetery is a symbolic monument in Tallahassee that honors a long-running road-game tradition dating back to 1962. The site contains more than 100 bronze plaques, each marking a “sod game.” A piece of sod from the opponent’s field is buried beneath every plaque to remember the Seminoles’ road victories. In 2013 the cemetery was moved to its current spot, about 200 feet north of Doak Campbell Stadium (Gate M) and just outside the Al Dunlap Seminole Practice Fields.
Sod games are away games that qualify as big road wins. The rules started simple—wins where Florida State was the underdog—but over time the tradition grew. By the early 1980s, bowl games were included as sod games when the Seminoles won. The head coach has the final say on whether a game counts as a sod game, which allows for flexibility in special cases, such as huge rivalry wins.
The cemetery tells the story of the program, from early underdog seasons to championships. One famous recent example is the September 23, 2023 game against Clemson at Memorial Stadium. Florida State, then a slight favorite, beat Clemson 31–24 in overtime—FSU’s first-ever road win in overtime. The captains kept a sod as a symbol of the victory, and the turf piece was buried in the cemetery.
The tradition began after a 1962 win over Georgia, the first big road victory. Dean Coyle Moore, a sociology professor and member of the athletic board, helped start it. After Florida State beat Georgia 18–0, the sod from Sanford Stadium was brought back to Tallahassee and buried, marking the birth of the Sod Cemetery.
Many key figures contributed to the cemetery’s lore. Bobby Bowden, who was an assistant and then head coach from 1976–2009, added numerous sods. Stories about turf challenges—such as everyone joking about playing on AstroTurf—are part of the history. Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward and Matt Frier have added to the legacy with fond memories of what the sod games meant to the team.
In 2010, an NCAA ruling vacated several victories from multiple sports due to an academic scandal, including a 2006 Emerald Bowl win that had involved a sod. In 2021, a new bronze plaque was added to recognize Bowden’s era, noting 63 sod victories from 1976–2009.
The cemetery is cared for by Douglas Mannheimer, a Tallahassee attorney who was entrusted with the tradition in 1988, and his wife Cricket, who arranges the floral displays. Mannheimer was inducted into the FSU Hall of Fame for his work keeping the Sod Cemetery alive. He also speaks each year to the team about the tradition and oversees the process of obtaining markers and burying new sod.
If a game is designated a sod game, the head coach informs Mannheimer and a sod captain is chosen. After the game, the winning team’s captains bring back a patch of sod to be buried, and a marker is ordered from a foundry in West Virginia. Each burial includes a ceremony, a moment of silence, and, on gameday, sometimes an open-casket display with flowers. An audio history and details about the sod games are available to visitors via QR codes and an audio loop.
Flowers at the markers reflect visiting teams’ colors, with blue and orange for the Florida Gators and garnet and gold for most other markers. From 2014 to 2020, fans attended Sod Talk events 90 minutes before kickoff, featuring former players telling stories. Since 2020, these talks are shared as videos produced by the university. Notable participants across the years include Bobby Bowden, Charlie Ward, Warrick Dunn, Peter Warrick, and others who helped keep the tradition alive.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:25 (CET).