OSU photo by Eric Priddy, photographer
(STILLWATER, Okla., Dec. 2. 2025) — Autumn leaves falling across campus signal that the end of the semester is in sight — and for Oklahoma State University students, that means one thing: it’s time for the annual leaf pile jump.
With just two weeks left in the semester, students took a well-deserved break from finals prep and headed to Library Lawn, where OSU Landscaping Services unveiled this year’s giant leaf pile.
What began as a simple student idea on social media in 2024 has quickly become a campus tradition — one that blends Cowboy spirit, end-of-semester stress relief and a little bit of childhood joy.
The concept is simple:
- Gather the thousands of leaves collected across campus.
- Combine them into one massive pile.
- Let OSU students, faculty and staff dive right in.
But this year, Landscaping Services Director John Lee had one goal: make it bigger.
He remembered how much the OSU community embraced the first leaf pile and saw an opportunity to build on the moment.
“Last year, we had about three days to pull it off. But this year, we planned. So, the entire landscape team has been working pretty hard since autumn when trees started dropping leaves,” Lee said. “So, here we are with our bigger and even better piles.”
The result was a leaf pile double the size of last year’s at approximately 60 to 80 cubic yards.
Students, faculty, staff and even a few community members were all lined up as Lee led a countdown for all to jump into the pile.
Elli Winbolt, an urban horticulture student from Spring Hill, Kansas, is thankful to OSU Landscaping Services for continuing to provide such a fun experience — one that inspires her as she looks toward her future career.
“I’m currently in a woody plants class. So, I recognize all the leaves and shapes in this pile, and I know what trees they’re from now,” Winbolt said. “I’ve seen the signs that say, ‘OSU Landscaping Services two-time national champion,’ and the amazing landscape is kind of why I came here, as well as other things. It really makes me happy that they do this for us, because I was here last year with my sister.”
It was all smiles as the Cowboy family dove, flipped and laid in the leaf pile. Some even wore costumes, played football and buried each other in the leaves.
“We hope this becomes a really fun tradition for students,” Lee said.
Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant university that prepares students for success. OSU has more than 36,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 27,000 on its Stillwater campus, with students from all 50 states and around 100 nations. Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 275,000 students to serve the state of Oklahoma, the nation and the world.
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