Stepping on the Coat ceremony reenacted on campus
Annual tradition began in 1966 and heralds end of winter, start of spring
The start of an eccentric tradition at Binghamton University began in 1966 with a simple winter coat.
“Legend has it that this yearly ritual began when a late snowfall in April so incensed Binghamton student Larry Kressel that he took off his coat in defiance of the weather, stomped on it as it lay on the ground and swore not to wear a winter coat again that spring,” said Dave Simek, associate director of athletics and chair of the campus Spirit Committee. “Miraculously, the snow stopped and the sun began to shine. The following April, another storm began to brew and again Kressel tossed his coat to the ground and stepped on it. The snow ceased and the sun beat down on his coatless back. Suddenly, Kressel realized that his coat-stomping ritual was vital to the coming of spring to Binghamton, and the yearly tradition began.”
This now long-standing tradition, which “became a beacon of hope that the winter would eventually end,” was brought back Friday, March 29, by the Pegasus statue outside of Bartle Library. The celebration came together with the help of the Spirit Squad, Student Association, Vice President for Student Affairs Brian Rose and various faculty.
Rose said that every school that ranks above Binghamton has even weirder traditions than this and if Binghamton wants to climb in the rankings, it needs to get weirder. For example, Columbia University has an event called “Orgo Night,” which takes place the night before the student’s big organic chemistry exam and involves the Columbia Band raiding the library at midnight to disrupt studying and lower the curve.
“Well, we’ve got “stepping on the coat” in our history,” said Rose. “Not that weird, really, but it’s what we’ve got. So let’s work with it and continue our inexorable climb up the rankings.”
The coat-stomping tradition continued at Binghamton in various forms throughout the years. The army-green coat used for the ceremony was bought for $2 at Salvation Army, specifically to be used for coat-stomping ceremonies from 1971−1976. It was donated back to the school by an alumnus and it is the University’s hope to display the coat on campus and officially put it back in service with this annual event.
Ned Weisman ‘74, who stepped on the coat for the first time as a student back in 1977, returned from the west coast after 40 years of not needing a winter coat to step on it for the second time at this year’s ceremony.
“After a lifetime of marriage and kids, and making movies like Avatar and television like Power Rangers and hundreds of sitcoms… watching the Lakers and playing golf twice a week with no need for a winter coat, the fates decided it was time for me to return home,” said Weisman.