Press Backgrounder SwampButt Underwear™ Scale of Sultry Overview
SwampButt Underwear, a Texas-based performance underwear company, created the “Scale of Sultry” as a tongue-in-cheek yet data-informed way of assessing game-day conditions for college football. The Scale of Sultry takes multiple weather variables—including game-time temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, cloud cover, and precipitation—and distills them into a single number ranging from 1 (not sultry at all) to 10 (unbearably sultry, like Singapore or Clute, TX).
While the Scale of Sultry system began as a playful tool for local fans to prepare for heat and humidity, it has evolved into a predictive metric suggesting which team might gain a competitive advantage based on climate conditioning. Schools located in hotter, more humid environments often practice in conditions that better prepare them for sultry game days.
Why the Scale of Sultry Matters
- Performance & Endurance: Athletes accustomed to training in high heat and humidity may have greater stamina in similar game-day environments.
- Fan Experience: Beyond athletes, fans also feel the effects—stadium comfort levels, hydration needs, and even tailgating logistics shift depending on “sultry” conditions.
- Entertainment Factor: The “Scale of Sultry” adds color commentary and humor to the college football conversation, giving fans and media an extra storyline heading into game weekend.
Methodology
The SwampButt Scale is built from real meteorological inputs including:
- Temperature & RealFeel® Indexes
- Humidity & Dew Point
- Wind Speed & Direction
- Cloud Cover
- Precipitation Probability
- UV and Brightness Indexes (where applicable)
These values are combined and weighted to provide a single “sultry” score, accompanied by a narrative interpretation. The result is both scientifically grounded and, in the SwampButt tradition, delivered with humor and plain talk.
Examples – Week Four, 2025
- Texas Tech at Utah – Rating 2 – Advantage: Texas Tech. Cool, fall-like conditions favor players used to the harsh plains of West Texas.
- Maryland at Wisconsin – Rating 3 – Advantage: Maryland. Summer conditioning in the steamy Mid-Atlantic gives the Terps an edge.
- Syracuse at Clemson – Rating 5 – Advantage: Clemson. Humid South Carolina air proves too much for upstate New Yorkers.
- North Carolina at UCF – Rating 8 – Advantage: UCF. Orlando’s solar-oven stadium and swampy air overwhelm the Tar Heels.
- Stanford at Virginia – Rating 6 – Advantage: Virginia. A warm, humid Virginia afternoon proves harder on Northern California players.
- Northern Illinois at Mississippi State – Rating 9 – Advantage: Mississippi State. Starkville’s deep-south humidity saps the Huskies’ endurance.
Company Background
SwampButt Underwear is a real company that designs and sells moisture-wicking underwear for men who sweat—a lot. Based in the sweltering Gulf Coast of Texas, the company leans on humor, honesty, and performance-focused fabrics to help customers fight embarrassing perspiration. The SwampButt name, while irreverent, reflects a universal reality: sweating happens, and we make it more bearable.
SwampButt Underwear products are made in Texas and trademarked in the U.S. and abroad.
Quote for Attribution
“Our premise is simple,” said SwampButt Underwear spokesman Nick Heraldson. “Schools in places where the weather is hottest and most humid are better conditioned than those in more moderate climates. It’s valid enough.”