Photo by Don Adams Jr.
ST. CHARLES – When head coach Jed Stugart and several coaches from the University of Sioux Falls were hired at Lindenwood in 2016, they talked about wanting to start a unique tradition.
“Lindenwood’s nickname is ‘The Wood,’ and the idea started from there,” Stugart said.
Assistant coach Josh Breske, now the head coach at Black Hills State, found large slabs of wood for sale for the purpose of making tables. A week later, he entered the Lindenwood complex with a massive, circular chunk of wood.
“He said, ‘Why don’t we start burning the wood every time we win?’” Stugart recalled.
The coaches purchased a custom-made branding iron that contains a ‘W’ for wins, the word ‘Lindenwood’ and the Lions logo.
“We decided to burn every win that has ever happened in Lindenwood’s history,” Stugart said.
Entering the 2026 season, there are 194 branded ‘W’s’ on the wood.
“Hopefully, on Thursday night, we’ll be in here burning the wood again for 195,” Stugart said.
Lindenwood opens its 2026 season against OVC conference rival Charleston Southern at 6:00 p.m. Thursday at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles.
The celebratory burning used to take place on the field. The team rolled the wood from the locker room into the stadium and conducted the ceremonial branding outside. Now, they run into the locker room and perform the ceremony inside.
“Usually the team, right off the bat, will pick a player that they saw as the most valuable or who made a big play, or sometimes they’ll pick a couple players and they’ll burn it together,” Stugart said.
While the player (or players) wait until Stugart heats the branding iron with a torch, they pinpoint the spot on the wood where the win will be emblazoned.
“Then, they burn it,” Stugart said. “We’re getting to the point where (the branding) is a little bit darker because they like to see the smoke start to rise up.”
The team even hauls ‘the wood’ with them on the road.
During last year’s 21-point comeback victory over Charleston Southern, a 31-yard punt return by Christopher ‘CJ’ Bennett changed momentum, and he was chosen to burn the wood in the locker room.
While Bennett burned it, the branding iron stuck to the wood. He tried to pull it off and only the handle came with him.
“The (heated) part was still on the wood, so I hit it and it flung on the floor. Luckily, it didn’t damage their floor. That’s the only mishap we’ve ever had,” Stugart said.
Now, instead of a screwed-on handle, the handle of the branding iron is welded on.
“There’s no way it’s coming off,” Stugart said.
And what started as a creative idea has created great significance to players, both past and present. A few years ago, a handful of Lindenwood football alums from the first team Stugart coached came by to pay a visit. They saw the wood sitting in his office.
‘Just so you know, these are your wins up here,’ Stugart told them while motioning towards the top row of ‘W’s. “They got emotional. It brought back a lot of memories. I didn’t realize the impact this has and just how much it means to our alums,” Stugart said.
Prior to games, the slab is rolled outside the locker room and each player touches it before entering the field, with the plan of adding another burn mark three hours later.
“We touch it, and say, ‘Hey, we have to come back and brand this thing.’ We want to have that expectation. They care about it. It’s a big deal,” Stugart said.
Stugart has created a few notches in the wood to signify meaningful moments, such as the time when Lindenwood moved from NAIA to Division II and eventually D-1. Also notched on the wood are the Lions’ back-to-back conference championship seasons.
“We can look back and say, ‘These are the wins under these eras.’” Stugart said.
Lindenwood’s 194 wins have consumed about two-thirds of the wood. Once the space is completely filled, the plan is to turn it over and start on the other side. Until then, the Lions will keep taking it one burn at a time, with the hope of creating many more memorable notches.
“It’s exciting,” Stugart said. “It’s turned into a cool tradition and it’s a good motivator.”