On a rainy Saturday afternoon at FirstBank stadium, one entrance stole the spotlight. No, it wasn’t the players emerging from their smoky tunnel or Nate Bargatze dropping the anchor at midfield. It was a new figure for Vanderbilt Football, a “king” of sorts, donning his famous red robe and crown.
SEC Shorts — a comedy group that publishes weekly skits about SEC football — has invented this lovable character and embraced his confident swagger. In certain skits throughout this football season, Vanderbilt — played by actor Josh Snead — assertively walks by the rest of his SEC foes, flexing his scepter and absurdly large sunglasses. He doesn’t speak a word as he strolls to the song “Bumpadelic,” but his actions and flashy aura are enough to make any college football fan chuckle.
While some say he’s the Vanderbilt Pimp, others call him King Vanderbilt. No matter his official title, he’s brought the swagger back to Vanderbilt Football.
SEC Shorts isn’t new to the comedy scene: 10 years ago, they submitted their first sketch to the Finebaum Show, hosted by SEC Network personality Paul Finebaum. From there, they have grown to college football fame, amassing millions of viewers each week and touching the hearts of fans across the SEC and beyond. Snead shared more about the production journey with The Hustler.
“We started it 10 years ago,” Snead said. “Robert [Clay] and I had an office job together, and then we started making the videos. We sent them to the Finebaum Show, and [at] the end of that year, people offered to pay us to do it. Then, it just slowly, over time, became our job.”
Whether it’s taking jabs at certain rivalries or celebrating an upset, SEC Shorts is always there to make its fans laugh on Monday mornings. What is new, however, is that Vanderbilt has become a central character for the first time in years. The crew at SEC Shorts knew they needed to honor the moment after the Commodores pulled off an upset win over Virginia Tech in Week One.
“[We] put it in the first script of the season, and it was just kind of a joke because we were excited that they beat Virginia Tech,” Snead said. “We wanted to do something big because we never really get to celebrate [Vanderbilt].”
Little did they know that Vanderbilt would go on to win a considerable number of games this season. As a result, the Vanderbilt character has made his fair share of appearances. Whether it was showing up to the conference pizza party in his red robe after beating Virginia Tech or rising from a coffin when the Commodores upset then-No. 1 Alabama, King Vanderbilt seems like he’s here to stay.
When Vanderbilt beat Auburn and became bowl-eligible for the first time since 2018, the crew at SEC Shorts knew they had to capitalize on the Commodores’ momentum. In Week 11’s sketch, King Vanderbilt drove down the road as flyers flew out of the pipes of his truck, advertising his next appearance: Nashville. The Vanderbilt vs. South Carolina game would mark the first-ever live appearance made by an SEC Shorts character.
“He’s not the hero they deserve, but the hero they need right now,” Eric Hall — a fellow SEC Shorts actor — said in the episode when they announced Snead’s trip to Nashville.
Snead is loving that Vanderbilt is finally getting the attention it deserves.
“In some ways, it’s actually an honor [to act as Vanderbilt] because I think everybody in the SEC is excited about celebrating Vanderbilt and being happy for them,” Snead said. “Everywhere we go, like college towns, people mention this character and how they’re happy for [Vanderbilt]. I think it just shows how passionate SEC fans are. They keep up with all the teams.”
Snead’s appearance at the South Carolina game didn’t disappoint. After starting the game by strolling out of Vanderbilt’s tunnel with Mr. C, he made several game-time appearances on the video board. At one point, he jumped up into the student section and danced.
“Everybody at Vanderbilt has been so cool to work with,” Snead said. “They’re basically just turning it over, and they’ve got all these great ideas. We’ve gotten this far with a lot of teams, and they usually chicken out in the end. [They] are worried something is gonna happen, but Vanderbilt has been completely awesome, and [it has been] totally cool to do this.”
While Vanderbilt didn’t take home the win on Saturday, Snead’s character lived up to the hype. He’ll remain a staple in SEC Shorts for the time being, and he’s brought some well-received swagger to Vanderbilt Football.
“This is what we came up with, and somehow it’s just stuck with the people,” Snead said. “It’s the first experience like this for me since we’ve been doing it [for] 10 years.”
Snead is most excited that his character is resonating with fans across the country. Kids across the Southeast dressed up as the “King” for Halloween, and the line for photos with him at Vandyville — Vanderbilt’s tailgating space — on Saturday was full for his entire meet and greet. The charming character has even adopted several nicknames since the start of the season, commonly being tweeted as the “VanderKing” or “Swaggerbilt.”
Fans will have to wait and see if King Vanderbilt makes another appearance in the last few SEC Shorts episodes of the 2024 College Football season. The Commodores will likely need to win to make it happen once again, but regardless of what happens, it’s undeniable that SEC Shorts has helped bring a newfound swagger to Vanderbilt Football.
The Commodores will return to action on Nov. 23 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when they take on the LSU Tigers.
