The 20 Best Stadium Songs In College Football

Few things get the crowd going on Saturdays in the Fall quite like the perfect stadium song as their team takes the field. Or the band cranking the energy up to ’11’ and playing the team’s fight song louder than ever before.

Some teams seem to have a virtual unfair advantage from the power of their fight song or entrance song, like Florida State’s War Chant or the Hokies’ coming out to Enter Sandman.

The 20 Best Stadium Songs In College Football

Today we are counting down the 20 best stadium songs in College Football. Everything on this list is 100% fact and not at all subjective. So if you disagree with these selections then you will have to go forth into the universe knowing you are wrong. Sorry, I do make the rules… First up, Tuscaloosa!

University of Alabama: ‘Dixieland Delight’

Love them or hate them, the University of Alabama is one of the most successful college football programs in existence. They were the most dominant program under Nick Saban and in generations before him. This song comes alive between the 3rd and 4th quarters, Alabama typically has a lead by then at home, and has captured the heart of Crimson Tide fans everywhere.

With all of that history you get moments like Bryant-Denny Stadium coming alive to the tune of Dixieland Delight, one of the band Alabama’s anthems, with 100,000 rowdy college football fans singing together on a Saturday night in the South.

LSU Tigers: ‘Callin’ Baton Rouge’

Aside from my alma mater’s iconic song which we will get to in a minute, Callin’ Baton Rouge by Garth Brooks from the LSU Tigers in Death Valley is probably my favorite. It is a combination of the song, the connection to the region, and the energy getting belted out by 102,000+ college football fans in Louisiana. This song gets sang before games to hype up the crowd and team and has worked like magic over the past few decades.

Even if you hate LSU, if the hair doesn’t stand up on your arm with 102K fans singing Callin’ Baton Rouge by Garth Brooks then you might be a little bit dead inside.

Virginia Tech Hokies: ‘Enter Sandman’

One of the best traditions in sports, the Virginia Tech Hokies fans singing Metallica’s Enter Sandman so loud they are said to have triggered seismic activity akin to earthquakes. Metallica finally made it to VT last year to perform and it lived up to the hype.

While it isn’t the best stadium song in the ACC, that honor goes to FSU’s War Chant, of course, it is still one of the best stadium songs in all of college football.

Michigan Wolverines: ‘Mr. Brightside’

It does feel a bit like cheating when your team’s stadium song is one of the most popular songs on earth, which we see a few times on this list. That is true in Ann Arbor where the University of Michigan Wolverines belt out Mr. Brightside by The Killers.

This anthem has been showing up at The Big House since 2016 in a game against Wisconsin but it really took off as an anthem with the fans against Michigan State in 2017 and after that it was there to stay.

Florida Gators: ‘Won’t Back Down’

As an FSU alum it pains me to give UF credit where credit is due but I have to. Tom Petty was born in Gainesville and they chose the perfect Tom Petty track as their rallying cry in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium: Won’t Back Down.

Does it always work and rally the team against SEC foes and FSU every other year? Absolutely not. Do they sound cool signing this iconic Tom Petty song? They absolutely do.

University of Wisconsin: ‘Jump Around’

Few songs get a stadium going like Jump Around does for the Wisconsin Badgers. The 1992 House of Pain track has that place as loud as any stadium on earth when the fans are going wild.

It is such an effective stadium song that it lives rent free in other team’s heads. Dan Lanning once weaponized the song with his own players in order to try and minimize Wisconsin’s home field advantage when Jump Around gets cranked up.

West Virginia Mountaineers: ‘Country Roads’

One of the most beautiful songs in sports, the West Virginia Mountaineers sing Country Roads by John Denver after each win. It is also played before games, dating back to 1972, and John Denver himself showed up by helicopter to play it in the stadium in 1980 during the Mountaineers’ season opener!

Florida State Seminoles: ‘Warchant’

Dollar for dollar, it is the best stadium song in college football because it is their own. FSU’s War Chant isn’t some song ripped from the Billboard 100 or taken from popular recording artists, it was written by FSU music professor Tommie Wright who was with the university from 1949 up until 2008.

Every college football fan knows the War Chant. Many hate it, more love it, and opposing teams fear it because it drowns out any chance they have of communication on the field. It is the best of the best.

Kentucky Wildcats: ‘Grove St. Party’

At some point the Kentucky Wildcats adopted Grove Street Party by Waka Flocka Flame as their stadium song and dang does it work. Kentucky has a great legacy and it was only a matter of time until they found the right song.

The only thing about it that doesn’t really gel for me though is Waka Flocka Flame is from NYC and grew up in Georgia…

South Carolina Gamecocks: ‘Sandstorm’

The South Carolina Gamecocks coming out to Sandstorm is often the most exciting part of the game at USC, for better or worse. It is one of the most electric openings in college football because they adopted the perfect song.

The Gamecocks have been leaning on Sandstorm since around 2008 but it went mainstream in their 2009 game against Ole Miss, then ranked #4, when they played it with just 2 minutes left in the game and USC went on to upset #4 Ole Miss.

Penn State Nittany Lions: ‘Seven Nation Army’

It is a great song. They know that. That’s why they play it. But Seven Nation Army is played in more stadiums around the planet, particularly in Europe, than any other song in existence. That is the song’s claim to fame.

This is by no means a knock on Penn State, they just chose wisely with the song pick. Good on them for picking the best. If someone hands you a menu with steak and lobster and says “order whatever you want” you don’t say “I’ll just have bread, please.” Right?

University of Southern California: ‘Tusk’

There is no band in college football more iconic than the Spirit of Troy. USC is located so close to Hollywood that its marching band often takes part in the biggest events in pop culture, like a surprise performance at the GRAMMYs or even an appearance in the movie Forrest Gump. Its most iconic moment, however, took place in 1979.

The Spirit of Troy was featured in the Fleetwood Mac song ‘Tusk’ and played a big role in the music video. Now, as is tradition, the band plays the iconic rock and roll song with an added twist… Fans chant along “U-C-L-A Sucks!” right as the horns hit their crescendo.

University of Georgia: ‘Baba O’Reilly’

The Georgia Bulldogs’ stadium song, Baba O’Reilly, emerged in the 2000s under then head coach Mark Richt. They blast it along with a montage of UGA highlights, it connects the older generations to the new, and is an all around great stadium song.

Oklahoma State: ‘Friends in Low Places’

We have another song that feels like cheating here but I’ll allow it because this Garth Brooks song goes so hard. I cannot hear Friends In Low Places without singing at the top of my lungs with a twang as if I’d been day drinking for the past 8 hours.

This song typically gets sang in the stadium between the 3rd and 4th quarters and is a fan favorite every. single. time.

Arkansas Razorbacks: ‘War Pigs’

While it played at every single game inside the Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, when the Arkansas Razorbacks play War Pigs by Black Sabbath it just hits right.

The parallels are obvious… ‘War Pigs‘ and ‘Razorbacks’ taking on the opposition. Arkansas is rarely the most feared team in the SEC but that might be different if they fired up War Pigs on the regular instead of once in a while.

University of Oregon: ‘Shout’

The Oregon Ducks picked a good one with Shout, a classic singalong from Animal House and other films. It is a 1959 hit from the Isley Brothers that brings all of the energy a crowd can handle, a quintessential wedding track.

Does it strike fear into the hearts of their opponents? Absolutely not. It’s as happy-go-lucky as a stadium song can be. But it gets the crowd amped up every time.

University of Iowa: ‘Back in Black’

When the Iowa Hawkeyes Football team is wearing their classic black unis and can come out to AC/DC’s Back in Black you just know that team is going to go out there and hold the opposition to scoring like 11 points and it is going to be glorious.

In all seriousness, every team that wears black unis should play this for those occasions. Why not?

App State: ‘Beer Never Broke My Heart’

Appalachian State have welcomed the music of App State alumni Luke Combs. It’s a match made in heaven. His music hits the picturesque surroundings of Boone, North Carolina perfectly on a Saturday night in the Fall.

Getting the crowd to sing along to Luke Combs’ music at App State games was also arguably the easiest task in CFB. He’s an alum, his songs are great for singing along, it all came together with ease.

Clemson Tigers: ‘Tiger Rag’

Another original song is the Tiger Rag fight song by the Clemson Tigers. For their run down ‘The Hill’ in what Clemson calls the “most exciting 25 seconds in college football,” (their words, not mine) this song slaps.

During the years when the Clemson Tigers are good, this song makes for a fearsome entrance. On the years they aren’t great, it gives the fans something to root for.

Kansas State: ‘Crazy Train’

Kansas State is punching way above their weight class with this one. Crazy Train is one of the greatest songs of all time and to pick it as their song feels like cheating.

If this song was for say… Notre Dame, Texas, USC, Florida State, Ohio State, etc., I’d get it. It’s top notch. Kansas State crushed it with this choice and good on them for it.