PHOTOS: From build to burn: Behind-the-scenes look at Tiger Burn

USC held its annual Tiger Burn event on Nov. 19, 2025, at Blatt Field in front of a crowd of students and staff members. Although the 34-foot-tall structure burns within minutes, it takes the American Society of Mechanical Engineers much longer to properly plan and build the structure each year. The USC chapter of ASME, which has been in charge of building the statue for 22 years, met over the course of multiple weeks along with outside volunteers to assemble the statue's sections from wood, paper and mesh wire before stuffing the inside with a concoction of materials and dousing everything with lighter fluid. The Tiger Burn event, dating back to over a century ago, was part of the "rivalry week" lineup of events ahead of South Carolina's football game against Clemson on Nov. 29.

The tiger statue quickly burns, accompanied by a firework show, during USC’s annual Tiger Burn event on Nov. 19, 2025, at the Blatt Field. The audience cheered as they watched the event.

Two South Carolina students and members of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers place wire mesh over a section of the tiger statue for Tiger Burn on Nov. 10, 2025. ASME has been building the tiger's structure for 22 years.

Third-year civil engineering student Jordan Henderson (left) and second-year biomedical engineering student Connor Prince (right) rotate a portion of the Tiger Burn statue on Nov. 10, 2025. Each section has an outer lining of orange paper, which is then reinforced by a layer of mesh wiring.

The head of a tiger statue burns during Tiger Burn at Blatt Field on Nov. 19, 2025. The statue was built over the course of several weeks by students in South Carolina's chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

A utility truck and crane help assemble the tiger statue ahead of USC's annual Tiger Burn event at Blatt Field on Nov. 19, 2025. This year's statue reached 34 feet tall when fully assembled.

Various sections of the Tiger Burn statue in the biomass warehouse next to the Molinaroli College of Engineering on Nov. 10, 2025. Students from the school spend weeks designing and building the 34-foot-tall statue that was burned down.

South Carolina students watch as a tiger statue burns during Tiger Burn at Blatt Field on Nov. 19, 2025. The statue is stuffed with scrap wood, cardboard, palettes, cardboard, pine straw and hay before being doused with lighter fluid and ignited in front of spectators.

First-year civil engineering student Luke Johnson cuts up a section of the orange outer paper lining of the Tiger Burn statue on Nov. 10, 2025. Each section has a layer of paper applied and reinforced with metal mesh wiring.

A member of USC's chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers assembles the tiger structure ahead of the Tiger Burn event on Blatt Field on Nov. 19, 2025. The event was part of the university's "rivalry week" leading up to the football game against Clemson.

Second-year biomedical engineering student Connor Prince raises the orange paper up to measure on Nov. 12, 2025, at the biomass facility. Members of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers met daily from Nov. 10 to 14 and Nov. 17 to 19 to plan and build the tiger structure.

Third-year mechanical engineering student Bradley Wardell holds a roll of wire mesh while another student cuts it during the building of the Tiger Burn statue on Nov. 10, 2025. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has been building the tiger statue for Tiger Burn for 22 years.

USC's tiger sits as students enter the Blatt Field for the annual Tiger Burn event on Nov. 19, 2025. The 34-foot-tall structure is designed and built by the USC chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers every year.

Students and workers stand next to the Tiger Burn statue during its final assembly on Nov. 19, 2025, at Blatt Field. The 34-foot-tall structure was assembled in pieces at the nearby biomass facility before being transported to the softball field on the day of the event.