FSU Football to honor memory of longtime supporter Burt Reynolds

FSU football lost one of their most vocal supporters and benefactors with the passing of former player and legendary actor Burt Reynolds on Thursday.

For much of the time that the FSU football program has been in existence, a man by the name Burt Reynolds has been associated with the program. It started in the 1950s when the high school running back from West Palm Beach made his way to Tallahassee to play for the Seminoles – rooming with another player from Miami named Lee Corso.

Though his career with the Noles and time in school would be cut short thanks to a knee and spleen injury, Reynolds never forgot about the Seminoles when he became one of the most visible men in all of Hollywood. While starring in some of the biggest movies in show business, Reynolds would be in Tallahassee for games or cheering on FSU football in the Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl or others.

The first dorm for FSU football players across the street from Doak Campbell Stadium? Paid for in part by Reynolds and named after him.

The first garnet pants that made their debut in the 1992 season? Paid for by Reynolds before they became part of the Seminoles’ deal with Nike two seasons later.

Reynolds’ death Thursday from a heart attack at the age of 82 inside a Jupiter, FL hospital is a loss that anyone who wears garnet and gold and supports the Seminoles is feeling. It’s a loss that deprives the Noles of an unabashed supporter and friend of the program.

The FSU football team announced they will wear a helmet decal to honor Reynolds during Saturday’s game – and as head coach Willie Taggart has gone out of his way to honor the legacy of those who built the program, I think there will end up being more done for someone who did so much with their sweat, support and wallet.

Burt Reynolds put his money where his mouth is when he came to support his beloved Noles. Heck, he had his own segment on the Bobby Bowden Show every Sunday where fans of the Seminoles from across the state would tune to their local affiliates and here “The Bandit” talk about another great moment in FSU football.

Burt Reynolds may be gone from this Earth, but his legacy will forever be drenched in garnet and gold and he will forever be a Seminole.