Top Ten Most Spirited Colleges

Audrey Continelli, Staff Writer

We’ve got spirit! How about you? While it’s very common to see college students wearing spirit jackets, shirts, and more, these top-spirited schools go all out. From students painted head to toe in school colors to crazy, decked out mascots, these schools never fail to show their pride. Here are the top ten most spirited colleges!

10.) The University of Texas – These students find ways to incorporate their mascot longhorns everywhere, regardless of practicality. On helmets, hats, shirts, and more, this icon even has a trademark hand gesture! (utexas.edu).

9.) Stanford University – Dressed head to toe in cardinal and white, Stanford fans have so much school spirit! In fact, they have so much school spirit that they don’t even need an official mascot. Unofficially, fans support the Stanford Tree — a walking, talking redwood tree that is surprisingly goofy and delightful (stanford.edu).

8.) Ohio State University – Brutus Buckeye, the OSU mascot, leads these rowdy Ohio State Buckeye fans onto the spirit list. Even more notable than their mascot, though, is their shock-and-awe marching band that kills the halftime show of every event (osu.edu).

7.) University of Notre Dame – Visitors of Notre Dame get to experience the “Touchdown Jesus,” a mural of Jesus Christ (literally a school spirit?) with raised arms near the football stadium, beloved by Notre Dame fans and celebrated as a beacon of school spirit. These Fighting Irish go all out in green to show their support during school events (bestvaluedschools.com).

6.) University of Florida – Gators fans across their campus sing “We Are the Boys from Old Florida” loud and proud to rally together and display their pride in full force. These die-hard fans and UF students show their school spirit by performing the “Gator Chomp” with their arms any chance they get (livability.com).

5.) Louisiana State University – Don’t be alarmed, but the LSU mascot is an actual live tiger. His name is Mike and he weighs 450 pounds. Obviously, the students’ loyalty to the school should not be questioned considering they willfully fill up a stadium that also houses a Siberian Bengal tiger (lsu.edu).

4.) Pennsylvania State University – Nittany Lions fans are the absolute winners of  White Out. It’s somewhat surprising that the most visually impressive allegiance to a school comes from the absence of color — when all of the Beaver Stadium dresses in white. It looks a little bit like winter, in the form of school spirit and support (psu.edu).

3.) University of Michigan – It’s hard to beat a school that shows their school spirit with a crowd of 109,901 fans singing and clapping a fight song in unison. Wolverine fans show their devotion by wearing maize, banging cowbells, and hating all things Ohio (bestvaluedschools.com).

2.) The University of Alabama – “Rammer Jammer, Yellow Hammer, give ‘em hell, Alabama!” If you know what this means, then you already understand the intense school spirit of the Crimson Tide. With Big Al, their elephant mascot, and a fight song to scare off opposing schools, this college’s spirit cannot be discounted (rolltide.com).

1.) University of Southern California – A USC Trojan warrior mounts the mascot, which can only be described as a noble steed, to amp up fans. Attendees congregate to form a sea of cardinal red and gold, while the Trojans take on what is literally a warrior attitude. Maybe it’s the sun, maybe it’s the horse, but these fans deserve the number one spot on this list of most spirited schools (usc.edu).