p1:College fight songs are Saturday staples, memorized in freshman orientation and blasted by marching bands at every game. The best ones are shouted from the rooftops and during Heisman Trophy presentations; the worst barely register with alumni.
p2:We gathered the fight songs of 65 schools — all those in the Power Five conferences (the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC), plus Notre Dame — to see exactly how these teams are musically willed to victory. We counted which very common tropes (like shouting “Rah!” or spelling something out) appear in each song’s lyrics and determined how fast the song is played and how long it lasts (for the version available on Spotify).
p3:Of the songs we examined, 44 include the word “fight” — usually more than once: “Fight” is sung, said or yelled 185 times total in these songs. Forty-one songs use either “win” or “victory,” and 35 name the school’s colors; 28 feature some sort of spelling (including acronyms), while 18 use the word “rah” and 10 use some other nonsense syllable. Twenty-four mention men in some capacity — often as “boys” or “sons” — and 12 name the school’s opponent, either a perennial rival or the foe of the day.
BLURBS
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notre_dame: Notre Dame’s “Victory March” contains six of these tropes. The song was written in 1908 by alumni Michael J. Shea and John F. Shea. It was named the No. 1 college fight song by NFL.com in 2015.
baylor: Baylor’s “Old Fight” contains five of these tropes. The song was written in 1947 by students Dick Baker and Frank Boggs. It replaced the original fight song, “Bear Down Baylor Bears,” which was written in 1940.
iowa_state: “Iowa State Fights” contains four of these tropes. The song was written in 1930 by students Jack Barker, Manly Rice and Paul Gnam. Rosalind K. Cook, a staffer in the music department, arranged the music.
kansas: Kansas’s “I’m a Jayhawk” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1912 by George “Dumpy” Bowles. The lyrics were altered by Matt Schoenfeld in 2010 as part of a contest.
kansas_state:Kansas State’s “Wildcat Victory” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1927 by student Harry E. Erickson. It featured two verses originally, but only the second verse is sung today.
oklahoma: Oklahoma’s “Boomer Sooner” contains two of these tropes. The song was written in 1905 by student Arthur M. Alden. The music was taken from a Yale song, while the third verse was borrowed from North Carolina’s “I’m a Tar Heel Born.”
oklahoma_state: Oklahoma State’s “Ride ’Em Cowboys” contains four of these tropes. The song was written in 1934 by J.K. Long and is part of “the trilogy” played by the marching band, including “The Waving Song” and “OSU Chant.”
texas: “Texas Fight” contains four of these tropes. The song was written in 1923 by Walter S. Hunnicutt, James E. King and Burnett Pharr. Out of all the fight songs in our database, it contains the most mentions of the word “fight,” with 17.
texas_christian: “TCU Fight Song” contains six of these tropes. The song was written in 1928 by Claude Sammis. Sammis was the chairman of the TCU music department.
texas_tech: Texas Tech’s “Fight, Raiders, Fight” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1936 by student Carroll McMath. A middle school in Denton, Texas, is named after McMath, who became a band director in the district.
west_virginia: “Hail West Virginia” contains one of these tropes. The song was written in 1915 by alumni Earl Miller, Ed McWhorter and Fred Deem. The unofficial song of the school is John Denver’s “Country Roads,” which has been played at every home football game since 1972.
illinois: “Oskee-Wow-Wow” contains six of these tropes. The song was written in 1910 by students H.R. Green and H.V. Hill. The song evolved from a “class yell” used in the 1800s.
indiana: “Indiana, Our Indiana” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1912 by Russell P. Harker. The song melody came from “The Viking March” by composer Karl L. King.
iowa: “Iowa Fight Song” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1950 by Meredith Willson, who also composed and wrote “The Music Man.”
maryland: “Maryland Fight Song” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1939 by student Ralph Davis. The school has another fight song called “Maryland Victory Song.”
michigan: Michigan’s “The Victors” was written in 1898 by student Louis Elbel. The song’s well-known chorus somehow contains none of the most common fight-song tropes we’re tracking, like “fight” or “win” — though “victors” isn’t far off from “victory.”
michigan_state: “Victory for MSU” contains six of these tropes. The song was written in 1915 by students Francis Irving Lankey and Arthur L. Sayles. Wins over Michigan and Wisconsin in 1913 inspired Lankey, who appreciated those schools’ fight songs.
minnesota: “The Minnesota Rouser” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1909 by Floyd Hutsell, a church choir director who went on to have a career in vaudeville.
nebraska: “Dear Old Nebraska U.” contains one of these tropes. The song was written in 1924 by student Harry Pecha. “Hail Varsity” is the school’s official fight song.
northwestern:“Go! U Northwestern” contains four of these tropes. The song was written in 1912 by student Theodore C. Van Etten, who wrote the song after a win over Indiana.
ohio_state:Ohio State’s “Buckeye Battle Cry” contains five of these tropes. The song was written in 1919 by Frank Crumit. Ohio State has two official fight songs — “Across the Field” is the other.
penn_state:Penn State’s “Fight On, State” contains five of these tropes. The song was written in 1933 by Joseph Sanders. The song was initially taught only to the freshman class; it took several years before the entire student body knew it.
purdue:“Hail Purdue” contains two of these tropes. The song was written in 1912 by students James R. Morrison and Edward S. Wotawa. The song was originally called “Purdue War Song.”
rutgers:Rutgers’s “The Bells Must Ring” contains seven of these tropes. The song was written in 1931 by students Richard Hadden and W.E. Sanford. This is the “tropiest” fight song in our database, with seven tropes represented.
wisconsin:“On, Wisconsin” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1909 by William Purdy and Carl Beck, though it was originally written for the University of Minnesota’s football song contest.
arizona:“Bear Down, Arizona” contains one of these tropes. The song was written in 1952 by Jack K. Lee, who wrote it when applying to be Arizona’s band director.
arizona_state:Arizona State’s “Maroon and Gold” contains four of these tropes. The song was written in 1948 by Felix McKernan, who was the school’s band director.
california: “Fight for California” contains five of these tropes. The song was written in 1909 by Earl Elleson McCoy and Robert N. Fitch. It is one of roughly 20 of the school’s official songs, including “Big C,” the melody for which is now used by UCLA.
colorado:“Fight CU” contains four of these tropes. The song was written by Richard Durnett, though the year it was written is unknown. The lyrics were set to music used by the Culver Military Academy.
oregon:“Mighty Oregon” contains five of these tropes. The song was written in 1916 by student DeWitt Gilbert and band director Albert John Perfect. Part of the melody was written to match the harmony of the World War I song “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary.”
oregon_state:“Hail to Old OSU” contains two of these tropes. The song was written in 1914 by Harold Wilkins, who was an alumnus and the chief musician of the Oregon Agricultural College Cadets.
stanford:Stanford’s “Come Join the Band” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1907 by students Aurania Ellerbeck Rouverol and Robert Browne Hall. Stanford also uses “All Right Now,” by the English band Free, as an unofficial song.
ucla:UCLA’s “Sons of Westwood” contains five of these tropes. The song was written in 1913 by Harold P. Williams and N. Loyall McLaren as “Big C” for the University of California. Kelly James, a UCLA band director, wrote an arrangement of the song for a joint performance of several state bands in 1959, and UCLA adopted that version as its own. It is now also known as “Bruin Warriors.”
usc:“Fight On, USC” contains five of these tropes. Student Milo Sweet wrote the song in 1922 for a Trojan Spirit contest.
utah:“Utah Man” contains four of these tropes. The song was written in 1904 by Harvey Holmes and the football team. Thirty-seven percent of the fight songs in our database mention men in some way, but “Utah Man” is the only one with the word in the title. The lyrics were revised in 2014 to offer the option of singing “Utah fan” instead of “Utah man.”
washington:“Bow Down to Washington” contains four of these tropes. The song was written in 1915 by Lester J. Wilson for a contest that required entries to mention the rival University of California Golden Bears; that reference was cut from the song in the 1930s.
washington_state:Washington State’s “The Fight Song” contains five of these tropes. The song was written in 1919 for a class project by students Zella Melcher and Phyllis Sayles. Its title is probably the least creative one in our database.
alabama:“Yea Alabama” contains six of these tropes. The song was written in 1926 by student Epp Sykes. The lyrics reference the 1925 season and the 1926 Rose Bowl, which gave Bama its first national title.
arkansas:“Arkansas Fight” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1913 by student William Edwin Douglass. His music teacher arranged the piece.
auburn:Auburn’s “War Eagle” contains four of these tropes. The song was written in 1955 by Robert Allen and Al Stillman. An Auburn supporter commissioned the two New York City songwriters to write the piece.
florida:Florida’s “The Orange and Blue” contains two of these tropes. The song was written in 1925 by George Hamilton and Thornton Whitney Allen. The Gators also play the song “We Are the Boys” at every football game, between the third and fourth quarters.
georgia:Georgia’s “Glory, Glory” contains one of these tropes. The song was adapted from the traditional “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” with words written by student Hugh Hodgson in 1915. The official school fight song is “Hail to Georgia.”
kentucky: “On! On! U of K” contains five of these tropes. The song was written in 1923 by students Troy Perkins and Charles A. Lampert. Perkins won a lyric-writing contest arranged by Lampert, chairman of the Kentucky music department, who had written the music.
louisiana_state: “Fight for LSU” contains five of these tropes. The song was written in 1937 by Castro Carazo and W.G. Higginbotham. Carazo, a marching band director, also co-wrote “Touchdown for LSU.”
mississippi: Mississippi’s “Forward Rebels” contains four of these tropes. The song was written by E.F. Yerby, though it’s unclear when he wrote it — either when he was a student in the 1930s or as the marching band director in 1949-50.
mississippi_state: Mississippi State’s “Hail State” contains four of these tropes. The song was written in 1936 by Joseph Peavey, who received a $50 prize for winning a fight song contest. When the Bulldogs play Mississippi, the last line is changed to “Go to hell, Ole Miss!”
missouri:Missouri’s “Fight Tiger” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1946 by students Donald MacKay and Robert Karsch. “Every True Son/Daughter” is also an official fight song.
south_carolina:South Carolina’s “The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way” contains four of these tropes. The song was written in 1968 by Paul Dietzel and Elmer Bernstein and arranged by James Pritchard. Dietzel was the football coach and wrote the words; the tune was written by Bernstein for the musical “How Now, Dow Jones.”
tennessee:Tennessee’s “Rocky Top” contains none of these tropes. The song was written in 1967 by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and was first performed by the Tennessee marching band at a football game against Alabama on Oct. 21, 1972. It isn’t the school’s official song — that’s the more traditional “Down the Field.”
texas_am:Texas A&M’s “Aggie War Hymn” contains four of these tropes. The song was written in 1918 by student J.V. “Pinky” Wilson. The best-known portions of the song mention colors, but not those of A&M — instead, it waves goodbye to the orange and white of the University of Texas.
vanderbilt:Vanderbilt’s “Dynamite” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1941 by alumnus Francis Craig, a band leader in the 1930s and ’40s. The school has used two other fight songs: “Cheer for Old Vandy” and “Spirit of Gold.”
boston_college: Boston College’s “For Boston” contains none of these tropes. The song was written by T.J. Hurley. Some reports list it as being written in 1885, which would make it one of the oldest fight songs in the country, but the research of a Boston College professor dates it to between 1913 and 1917.
clemson:Clemson’s “Tiger Rag” contains one of these tropes. The song was written in 1917 by the Original Dixieland Jass Band. The score was purchased in 1941 by the cadet bandmaster of the Clemson Corps band to be used as the school’s fight song. It is also used by LSU’s band.
duke:Duke’s “Fight Blue Devils” contains four of these tropes. The song was written in 1947 by Joe Hewitt and Doug Ballin. The song is one of two official fight songs at the school, along with “Blue and White.”
florida_state:“FSU Fight Song” contains five of these tropes. The song was written in 1950 by students Doug Alley and Tommie Wright. Alley was a student who wrote the lyrics as a poem; Wright wrote the music.
georgia_tech:“Ramblin’ Wreck From Georgia Tech” contains three of these tropes. The music is based on a folk song called “Son of a Gambolier.” Students are said to have written the lyrics for the fight song, which first appeared in the Georgia Tech yearbook in 1908.
louisville:“Fight! U of L” contains five of these tropes. The song was written in 1962 by Robert B. Griffith, who was the marching band leader. Louisville also uses “All Hail U of L” as a fight song.
miami:“Miami U How-Dee-Doo” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1950 by band leader Henry Fillmore. The school’s marching band is known as the “Band of the Hour.”
north_carolina:North Carolina’s “I’m a Tar Heel Born” contains one of these tropes. The song was written sometime after the early 1930s, though the exact date is unknown, as is the author. It was added as a coda to the alma mater, “Hark the Sound.”
north_carolina_state:NC State’s “The Red & White Song” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1961 by J. Perry Watson. The school’s official fight song is, appropriately, “NC State Fight Song.”
pitt:“Hail to Pitt” contains six of these tropes. The song was written in 1910 by students George Kirk and Lester Milton Taylor. “Hail to Pitt” is often played with two other songs: “Panther Song” and “Victory Song.”
syracuse:Syracuse’s “Down the Field” contains six of these tropes. The song was written in 1914 by students Ralph Murphy and C. Harold Lewis. “For the glory,” a phrase from the fight song, appears inside the neckline of the school’s football jerseys this season.
virginia:Virginia’s “The Good Old Song” contains three of these tropes. It’s sung to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne,” and the song’s lyrics were written in 1893 by student Edward H. Craighill — through Craighill said the first verse was a joint effort of students at a game. The school’s official song is “Cavalier Fight Song.”
virginia_tech:Virginia Tech’s “Tech Triumph” contains five of these tropes. The song was written in 1919 by student Wilfred P. Maddux and his neighbor Mattie Eppes.
wake_forest:“O Here’s To Wake Forest” contains three of these tropes. The song was written in 1908 by C.P. Weaver. Weaver was an alumnus and professor at the school.
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