Michigan’s Real Rivalry: Who Has the Better College Fight Song?

College football season is in full swing and that means some of the biggest rivals in the games are kicking it up. Even before they meet on the field, the competition between two of Michigan's favorite teams has heated up.

Chances are if you are a die-hard fan of either Michigan or Michigan State football you more than likely know every single word to their fight song. A staple at every game, those songs are sung with some serious pride, but do you know the story behind the anthems?

The University of Michigan Fight Song

Known as The Victors, has aged well. The song was written in November of 1898 by a music student at the University of Michigan named Louis Elbel. It's said he wrote the words and the music to the song as a celebration of a last-minute 12-11 Michigan victory over rival Chicago, giving U-M its first Western Conference football championship on Thanksgiving at Chicago's Stagg Field.

Believe it or not, before the new song by Elbel, the song "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" was considered the school fight song. The Victors made its debut in May of 1899 in Ann Arbor with none other than John Philip Sousa's band being the first to perform it in public.

Michigan State University Fight Song

The song we know today, Victory for MSU, was created in early 1915 and then copyrighted in 1919  when MSU was known as Michigan Agricultural College (M.A.C.). Originally known just as The MSU Fight Song, the song was officially renamed on its 100 anniversary to Victory for MSU. The  Spartan tune was the musical creation of a MSU cheerleader named Francis Irving Lankey, and a lyricist named Arthur Sayles. Interestingly enough, the song is a combination of original lyrics with a melody from an early 20th-century hymn called Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus.

Both songs have continually found themselves ranked as the Top College Football Fight Songs year after year. So whichever you find yourself singing when the Wolverines and the Spartans meet this year, it's sure to be a hit!  As for deciding who has the better song....the debate will go on for years.

Michigan State will head to The Big House on Saturday, October 26th for the big game.

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