In the past decade, a few well-known camo companies have expanded their offerings from strictly hunting-based patterns to fishing patterns, which allows them to market their brand through a wide variety of lifestyle garments.

In 2019, Realtree announced its WAV3 fishing pattern (above), and on Oct. 1, 2022, in a game against Kentucky (currently ranked No. 7 in the country), the Ole Miss football team (ranked No. 11) will take the field wearing helmets featuring WAV3.

If you’re a fan of Realtree camo, you no doubt are familiar with its founder, Bill Jordan. What you might not know, however, is Bill played wide receiver for the Ole Miss football team in the early 1970s. Bill’s son, Tyler Jordan, who works as marketing coordinator and TV host at Realtree, also graduated from Ole Miss. Tyler recently posted the following on Facebook:

“This has been a fun project to be a part of with Ole Miss Football and Lane Kiffin. Dad and I are both Ole Miss alums and to see the Realtree WAV3 pattern on an actual game helmet is still surreal for us. See you Saturday, Rebel Nation! Hotty Toddy!”

In a recent press release from Ole Miss, Bill Jordan stated, “"Most people that know our team here at Realtree know we're all big sports fans and college football consumes lots of our small talk around the office. Of course, Ole Miss and the football team hold a special place in my heart as an alum and former player. As we reviewed some of our key Realtree programs and licensed products for this fall, the idea sort of just hit us – what if we offered Ole Miss a Realtree pattern that the team could consider matching their football uniforms for use on the helmet?"

Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin said, “Our players and coaches are excited to partner with Realtree and wear this unique new helmet and gear. I appreciate Bill, Tyler and the entire Realtree team for all they have done and continue to do for our program. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for this great collaboration."

Because of Ole Miss’ partnership with Nike, an assortment of lifestyle garments (short-sleeve and long-sleeve shirts, hoodies, etc.) will also be available in the Realtree WAV3 pattern.

College sports, especially football and basketball, generate tremendous revenue each year as a result of a massive and passionate fan base. It’ll be interesting to see if this partnership between Ole Miss and Realtree paves the way for similar deals down the line.