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Did you know that Georgia Tech's "Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech" was derived from -- wait for it -- an old Scottish and English drinking song? The battle hymn, which became the official Yellow Jackets fight song in 1908, features classic, booze-inspired lines such as "like all the jolly good fellows, I drink my whiskey clear," and "I'd drink to all the good fellows who come from far and near."
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The Badgers fight song "On, Wisconsin" very nearly became the battle hymn of Big Ten foe Minnesota. After originally being composed in 1909 by William T. Purdy as "Minnesota, Minnesota" for entry in a fight song-finding contest, a Wisconsin alumnus stepped in and convinced Purdy to instead give it to his alma mater in Madison. The lyrics were changed to suit Wisconsin, and the rest, as they say, is history!
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As the story goes, U.S. Army Lt. Philip Egner came up with "On, Brave Old Army Team" as he was walking home one day back in the early 1900's. Egner wrote the song on the sleeve of his shirt so he wouldn't forget it, and it has since gone on to transcend football by becoming a favorite tune in army installations around the world.
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"Yea Alabama" was the entry of an Alabama engineering student into a fight song-finding contest held by the school newspaper in 1926. The song references two 'Bama rivals from that era who are actually no longer rivals, Georgia Tech and Sewanee, and is concluded with Alabama's famous battle cry of "Roll Tide!".
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Don't be confused by the spelling in Navy's fight song "Anchors Aweigh," as 'aweigh' means to pull up the anchor and set sail, versus 'away' which means an anchor is being thrown overboard. The tune was written in 1906 by Navy lieutenant Charles A. Zimmerman and made it's debut during a Navy-Army football game later that year, a game in which the Midshipmen defeated their longtime rivals 10-0.
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Played to the familiar tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," it's pretty tough to not get pumped up by Georgia's "Glory, Glory" (unless, of course, it's your team going up against the Bulldogs). The song has been played at Georgia football games as far back as the late-1800s, and was arranged to it's current form in 1915 by renowned pianist Hugh Hodgson.
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In 1905, OU student Arthur M. Alden borrowed the tune of Yale University's fight song (who themselves had borrowed the tune from someone else) and wrote the lyrics to what is now called "Boomer Sooner." The song has since become one of the most recognizable in all of college football, with former ESPN writer Doug Ward calling the combined effect of "Boomer Sooner" and OU's horse-drawn Sooner Schooner wagon "as potent a one-two fight song/mascot punch as you'll find in college football."
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The birthplace of Texas A&M's "Aggie War Hymn" was none other than an army foxhole in France. In the middle of battle during World War I, Aggies alum J.V. "Pinky" Wilson wrote the song on the back of a letter he had received from home. Upon his return, Wilson was encouraged to enter the tune into a contest, where it was eventually selected as the official Texas A&M fight song.
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Aptly-titled 'The Air Force Song," this battle hymn came about in 1938 after the Air Force decided it was time for them to get an official song. With no budget to allocate toward a song-finding contest, the now-defunct Liberty Magazine stepped in and offered up a prize of $1,000 to whichever composer submitted the winning entry. Over 700 songs were entered, with the winner being selected by a group of musically-inclined Air Force wives.
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The Longhorns fast-paced fight song "Texas Fight" is one of the many, many chapters in the longtime Texas-Texas A&M rivalry. The song was written by Colonel Walter S. Hunnicutt in response to an A&M song called 'Farmers Fight,' with Hunnicutt stating in a 1952 letter that he created Texas Fight "in an attempt to counteract the songs and yells of the Texas Aggies, which were not too complimentary to our Student Body." As the saying goes, rivalries truly know no limits.
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When the Ohio State Buckeyes were building their new stadium (The Horseshoe) back in 1919, they decided it would be nice to have a new fight song to go along with it. A contest was held and Frank Crumit, who was actually an alumnus of Ohio University but an OSU fan, submitted the winning entry of "Buckeye Battle Cry," which is now played every time the Buckeyes put points on the board.
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One of the most widely known fight songs in all of college football took all of about 10 minutes to write. Tennessee's "Rocky Top" was quickly put together by the married songwriting duo of Boudleaux Bryant and Felice Bryant in 1967, and made its debut at a Vols game in 1972. Fun fact: Rocky Top is the only college football fight song to make the Billboard Country Top 100 list, with country singer Lynn Anderson's version climbing the charts all the way up to No. 17!
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Following a last minute upset over then-rival University of Chicago in 1898, UM student Louis Elbel wrote "The Victors," which has gone on to become one of the most widely recognized fight songs in all of college football (sorry, Buckeye fans). Renowned composer John Philip Sousa, who was the first to play the song in public in 1899, is said to have called the song "the greatest college fight song ever written."
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Yet another college football battle hymn whose history is rooted in fight song-finding contests and war. "Fight On" was composed in 1922 by USC dental student Milo Sweet as part of a spirit contest and, as the legend goes, was blared from a U.S. warship during World War II as American forces stormed an island held by Japan. Quite the backstory!
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Whether or not you're a fan of the Fighting Irish, you gotta admit that few fight songs in college football carry the prestige, recognition and gravitas as that of Notre Dame's "Victory March." The song was composed in 1908 by two brothers who had attended Notre Dame, John and Michael Shea, and went on to make an appearance in the classic 1940 biographical film, Knute Rockne, All American. Just how well known is the ND battle hymn? According to the legendary college football analyst and historian Beano Cook, "Victory March" is "the fourth most well-known song in the country, behind only "The Star-Spangled Banner," "Happy Birthday" and "White Christmas." Hard to top that!
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