The 12th man or 12th player is a collective term for fans of sports teams in many eleven-a-side games, in particular association football or American football. As most football leagues allow a maximum of eleven players per team on the playing field at a time, referring to a team's fans as the 12th man implies that they have a potentially helpful and significant role in the game.

The 1922 Dixie Classic was a post-season college football bowl game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Centre College Praying Colonels on January 2, 1922, at Fair Park Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Texas A&M defeated Centre 22–14. It is also the game in which Texas A&M's 12th man tradition originated.