The 1950 Homecoming football game half-time show included a dedication ceremony naming the stadium in honor of university President Doak Campbell. There was also a special performance by the band, christening it the "Marching Chiefs" and premiering the "FSU Fight Song." Student Doug Alley wrote the lyrics to the fight song and Tommy Wright, Professor of Music, composed the score. Fifty years later, the FSU Fight Song is one of the most widely recognized college tunes in the country. Mission Control awakened alumnus and current professor, Norm Thagard, with the Fight Song one morning in 1983 while he was aboard the Challenger spacecraft. Wherever played -- and especially when performed live by the Marching Chiefs, the Fight Song stirs Seminole pride in alumni and fans. Sheet music is sold in stores.

Listen to the song at http://www.fsu.edu/~fsu150/media/fsufightsongextintro.mp3

For more information about the history of Thomas Wright and the origin of the FSU Fight Song see the lead article in the September 2004 edition of the Florida State Times here