The MSU Fight Song

The MSU Fight Song is the official fight song of the Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. It was written in 1915 by a student cheerleader, F. I. Lankey, and lyricist Arthur Sayles. Since that time the MSU Fight Song has become renowned as one of the finest of college fight songs.

During the 1970’s Michigan State University Music Department Chairman, James Niblock, invited the Juilliard String Quartet to MSU to play a concert. Subsequently, a warm and fruitful relationship was established. The Juilliard Quartet assumed residency at MSU for the next 10 years and gave many concerts and master classes during that time.

To provide the Juilliard Quartet with an encore sure to please their audience, Dr. Niblock wrote an arrangement of the MSU Fight Song that remained true to its original form yet also displayed the virtuosity of the quartet and the creativity of the arranger. It was a great success not only in Michigan but in many other parts of the world where the quartet was performed.