Photo courtesy of West Virginia University
Welcome back for the fifth of 13 installments where we rank all 130 FBS fight songs!
BACKGROUND
Fight songs are one of, if not the, best parts of college athletics. Everyone knows their university’s fight song.
Each week, 10 teams will be covered, starting with No. 130, and ending with the No. 1 fight song. This is designed to carry fans past the midway point of the darkness that is the FBS offseason.
This is perhaps the most subjective ranking list you’ll read all offseason. Any and all feedback can be directed to @CJOlson2000 on Twitter — whether it be positive or negative. But also remember that this is one man’s opinions on fight songs.
Also, even the worst fight songs are still enjoyable; they just are worse than their counterparts.
This took close to eight hours to complete, and that’s before turning it into 13 weekly articles. If someone is upset and feels so inclined, they’re welcome to listen and then grade all 130 FBS fight songs. It could be made into a weekly activity that’s updated as articles are published.
Lastly, there’s a possibility that the wrong song was used. If the wrong song was considered for a team and it negatively impacted their ranking, we are very sorry.
CRITERIA CONSIDERED
There were three factors considered for each team’s fight song.
1. FLOW
Did the song flow from beginning to end in a smooth way? This was given a weight of 25%.
The average flow score was 6.7016.
2. CROWD FACTOR
Is the crowd getting into it? Fight songs are designed to engage the crowd and get the crowd going, because this is the purpose of a fight song; this was given a 50% weight.
The average crowd factor score was 6.7137.
3. NOSTALGIA/FEEL-GOOD FACTOR
How much does this trigger the nostalgia of someone who put thousands of hours into NCAA football video games back when they had fight songs in the main menu?
Some teams newer to FBS do have a little bit of a disadvantage here. To make up for that, there is also a ‘feel-good factor’ incorporated. Fight songs should give listeners a great feeling, hence the reason for this category.
It’s fairly self-explanatory, but also the most subjective of the categories. This was given a 25% weight.
The average nostalgia/feel-good score was 6.8189.
The average overall score was 6.7370.
As a disclaimer, this final category was where biases shone through the most. For the first two categories, an attempt to be as unbiased as possible was made.
To avoid ties as best as possible, each factor’s score is given to four decimal places. Even with that, there was coincidentally two ties.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Lyrics and vocals were not considered unless it dominates the song and is what is predominantly coming across for a brief section. To remain uniform across the board, vocals and lyrics were only considered for these brief sections instead of for the full song.
PREVIOUS ARTICLES
If you’re interested in reading the rankings revealed so far without going through individual articles, that can found here.
Let’s get back to the rankings!
90. Middle Tennessee State
| Flow | Crowd Factor | Nostalgia/Feel Good | Overall | |
| Rating | 5.9354 | 6.2754 | 6.3321 | 6.2046 |
| Rank (Conf.) | 95/130 (9/14) | 80/130 (6/14) | 81/130 (8/14) | 90/130 (7/14) |
This one gives a little nostalgia, but overall, it’s not great. It’s missing a little depth and is a little underwhelming and basic. It ends a little abruptly, which is mainly where that missing depth would be helpful.
89. North Texas
| Flow | Crowd Factor | Nostalgia/Feel Good | Overall | |
| Rating | 6.0348 | 6.1450 | 6.5831 | 6.2270 |
| Rank (Conf.) | 88/130 (7/14) | 85/130 (7/14) | 75/130 (6/14) | 89/130 (6/14) |
A little old-timey, but it’s still good in a weird way. This one seems like it would be fun for touchdowns, but it doesn’t seem to be the type of song that plays well outside of when it’s played for touchdowns. Ideally, a fight song would be a little more versatile than just one situation.
88. Toledo
| Flow | Crowd Factor | Nostalgia/Feel Good | Overall | |
| Rating | 5.8831 | 6.8141 | 5.4815 | 6.2482 |
| Rank (Conf.) | 98/130 (6/12) | 66/130 (5/12) | 104/130 (7/12) | 88/130 (7/12) |
The overall tune is nice, but this is definitely too long. There isn’t anything that’s bad, but there’s nothing that’s great. Add it to the ever-increasing list of ‘good, not great’.
The section dedicated almost exclusively to singing in the middle does help the crowd factor, but that doesn’t excuse the length of the song.
87. West Virginia
| Flow | Crowd Factor | Nostalgia/Feel Good | Overall | |
| Rating | 6.4385 | 6.1095 | 6.4491 | 6.2767 |
| Rank (Conf.) | 76/130 (7/10) | 87/130 (7/10) | 78/130 (8/10) | 87/130 (8/10) |
The beginning is an instantly recognizable tune. It is a problem that the thought popped up of, “oh, this is West Virginia’s fight song?!”
The trumpet section decides to be a part of this, too, around the halfway point – a welcomed touch. The last 30 seconds feel a bit out of place.
86. Army
| Flow | Crowd Factor | Nostalgia/Feel Good | Overall | |
| Rating | 6.7351 | 6.0498 | 6.3115 | 6.2866 |
| Rank (Conf.) | 70/130 (3/7) | 88/130 (3/7) | 83/130 (4/7) | 86/130 (3/7) |
Army’s fight song is good, but not the top of the top. For some, this is one of their favorite songs. Apologies to them.
Part of the reason this song is so well respected is that it is the fight song for Army. If it were a university that wasn’t producing some of the finest servicemen and women in the world, the song probably isn’t as beloved. Sorry to Army, but thank you for your service.
85. Buffalo
| Flow | Crowd Factor | Nostalgia/Feel Good | Overall | |
| Rating | 5.8317 | 6.9315 | 5.5177 | 6.3031 |
| Rank (Conf.) | 100/130 (7/12) | 61/130 (4/12) | 102/130 (6/12) | 85/130 (6/12) |
This one scores well in crowd factor because of just how peppy and fun this song is. It’s not too long, not too short. The vibes for this one are great.
It is a little unmemorable and basic, so it loses a little bit there. Overall, this is a song that most would be happy to have for their school.
84. Tulane
| Flow | Crowd Factor | Nostalgia/Feel Good | Overall | |
| Rating | 6.3105 | 5.5480 | 7.8321 | 6.3097 |
| Rank (Conf.) | 81/130 (6/11) | 109/130 (8/11) | 42/130 (5/11) | 84/130 (8/11) |
Tulane’s fight song is repetitive, but in a great way. It does seem like the type of song where, after the first couple of times, the repetitiveness does wear some of the allure away.
Thankfully for Tulane, it does give a lighter feeling that a college fight song should have right after points are scored or the team is running onto the field from the tunnel.
83. SMU
| Flow | Crowd Factor | Nostalgia/Feel Good | Overall | |
| Rating | 6.2875 | 5.1987 | 8.5780 | 6.3157 |
| Rank (Conf.) | 83/130 (7/11) | 114/130 (9/11) | 18/130 (4/11) | 83/130 (7/11) |
This is hard to do as an SMU student, but it’s a middle-of-the-road fight song.
There’s a difference between a repetitive song and doing the same thing twice. This is the same thing twice. By the end of a game, this song is so easy to tune out or not even hear at all if points are being racked up.
The first couple times, though, this song is incredible for the same reasons as Tulane’s.
82. Fresno State
| Flow | Crowd Factor | Nostalgia/Feel Good | Overall | |
| Rating | 5.7805 | 6.8101 | 5.9938 | 6.3486 |
| Rank (Conf.) | 102/130 (10/12) | 67/130 (7/12) | 93/130 (11/12) | 82/130 (8/12) |
As established in previous articles, eight letters is the capacity for spelling. So, ‘Bulldogs’ is stretching it, but overall, it has all of the right vibes for a fight song.
The intro comes in well, and the ending sticks the landing. It is a little basic, but there’s nothing wrong with it otherwise.
81. Central Michigan
| Flow | Crowd Factor | Nostalgia/Feel Good | Overall | |
| Rating | 6.1230 | 6.0198 | 7.3145 | 6.3693 |
| Rank (Conf.) | 87/130 (5/12) | 91/130 (7/12) | 47/130 (3/12) | 81/130 (5/12) |
Overall, great feelings of nostalgia come from this one. All in all, this is a strong fight song. The crowd factor does lag behind a little due to it being a bit basic, but the nostalgia feeling carries this a good 12 to 18 rankings.
STILL TO COME: RANKINGS NOS. 80-71
Only 164 more days until FBS college football has returned, football fans. Hang tough and see everyone each Wednesday morning for the next installation of ranking FBS fight songs.