Furman Basketball Sends Savage Message With Unintentionally (?) Explicit Chant At March Madness

Furman University has the most savage chant in all of college basketball. Not necessarily because of what it actually means, but because of the message that it sends.

Furman Paladins cheerleaders look on during the first half in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Amway Center on March 16, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Furman, a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina, has a total enrollment of just under 3,000 students. It is the oldest private institute of higher learning in the state and has been around since 1826.

The campus is known for its beauty and its ‘Paladins’ nickname is rather unique. Paladins, known more commonly as knights renowned for their heroism, were originally twelve fictional knights of legend, the foremost members of Charlemagne’s court in the 8th century.

They are the only Paladins in college sports. But that is neither here nor there.

This is about Furman's free throw chant.

The Paladins, a No. 13-seed, faced the No. 4-seed Virginia Cavaliers in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. They won 27 games in 2022/23 and ran through the Southern Conference Tournament to earn an automatic March Madness bid.

Furman had a tall task with its ACC opponent, but was considered a sneaky upset pick by many. Sure enough, it was an ELECTRIC win.

The team and its cheerleaders brought their unintentionally vicious chant to The Big Dance.

Following every made free throw, Paladins cheerleaders and fans chant "F-U!" It's a classic.

Although the chant stands for Furman University, it also sends a message of "F—k you!"

And to make things even better, there is a little chant down in Greenville that is even led, on occasion, by university presidents. It goes like this:

“FU one time, FU two times, FU three times, FU all the time.”

The Paladins know exactly what they're doing. It's one of the oldest tricks in the book.

That doesn't make it any less funny as a group of very kind-looking cheerleaders rear back and chant "F-U!" at their opponents. Take that, Virginia!