The Late Movies: Great College Fight Songs


There's been a lot of talk about college sports lately thanks to the tragic scandal at Penn State University. This has had me thinking a lot about what sports mean to a school. One of the things I've always loved about college (and high school) games is the halftime show featuring the marching band. Here's six of my favorite college fight songs. What's yours?
Michigan
Louis Elbel wrote "The Victors" in 1898 following a last-minute win over the University of Chicago to win the Western Conference championship.
Notre Dame
Written by the Shea brothers in 1904, this famous fight song has been featured The Simpsons, Airplane! and Rudy.
Alabama
"Yea, Alabama," created through a contest held by The Rammer-Jammer newspaper, was written in celebration of the 1926 Rose Bowl victory over Washington.
Georgetown
This song is actually a combination of three different tunes—"The Touchdown Song," "Cheer for Victory," and "The Hoya Song"—that were joined to create "There Goes Old Georgetown."
Harvard
"Ten Thousand Men of Harvard," written in 1918 by A. Putnam, is taught to Harvard freshmen in the first few weeks on campus at an annual gathering where the marching band parades across Harvard Yard.
Columbia
Written in 1923 by Columbia students Corey Ford and Roy Webb, this tune is rumored to have inspired then-MGM publicity director Howard Dietz to use a lion as the company's mascot.