Fandom of the Week: USC Trojans. Fight On, the Coliseum, and a Program That Moved to the Big Ten Without Leaving Los Angeles.
USC sits at the intersection of Los Angeles college football and the entertainment industry, embedded in a city whose film and television culture shapes what the program looks like and who follows it. That proximity shapes what the program looks like, who follows it, and what it means to be a Trojan. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has hosted two Olympic Games, two Super Bowls, and more than a century of Trojan football. Traveler, the white horse who gallops around the Coliseum after every score, has been doing so since 1961. In 2024, all of that moved into the Big Ten. The conference changed. The Coliseum did not.
The University of Southern California has been playing football at the Coliseum since 1923. The program has won 11 claimed national championships, produced 8 Heisman Trophy winners and sent more players to the NFL than almost any other college program in history. In 2024, USC and UCLA left the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, ending more than a century of West Coast conference affiliation. The move was about money, media rights, and competitive positioning. It was also the most significant identity shift in the program’s modern history.
This is the ninth article in the Fandom of the Week series. Previous entries covered Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Alabama, Texas, and Oklahoma. This week: USC. Notre Dame vs. USC is October 24. The College Rivalries series has the full rivalry breakdown.
— THE COMMUNITY —
USC Trojans Fans: Who They Are, What Los Angeles Means, and What the Big Ten Changed
The USC fan base is defined by its city more than almost any other program in college football. Los Angeles has a more diffuse college football identity than traditional college towns like Tuscaloosa or Columbus. What USC has built over a century is a fan community drawn from the university’s alumni network, the entertainment industry connections that come from being embedded in Hollywood, and the local Los Angeles community that adopted the Trojans as the city’s college football team in the absence of a competing local identity.
The Trojan Family, the term USC uses for its extended community of students, alumni, and supporters, is explicitly inclusive in its framing. The name “Trojans” and the motto “Fight On” reference the ancient city of Troy, and the program has historically positioned itself as open to anyone willing to adopt the identity. The celebrity presence in the stands at the Coliseum is the most visible expression of that openness. USC’s proximity to the entertainment industry has made it a consistent part of the game day landscape.
The Big Ten move in 2024 created a specific tension in USC’s fan identity. The program spent more than a century as a West Coast power in a West Coast conference. The Pac-12 rivalries with UCLA, Oregon, and Washington were built over decades. In the Big Ten, USC now plays Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State in conference games that carry more national weight but less regional history. The fans who grew up with Pac-12 Saturday mornings are now watching Big Ten Saturday afternoons with different opponents. The program is the same. The context has changed completely.
— THE RITUAL —–
USC Game Day: The Coliseum, the Spirit of Troy, and What Saturdays in Los Angeles Look Like
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is USC’s home since 1923. It has a capacity of 77,500, sits in Exposition Park adjacent to the USC campus, and carries more history than almost any other stadium in American sports. Two Olympic Games were held here: 1932 and 1984. Two Super Bowls. The 1959 World Series. A Papal Mass. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1984. The peristyle end of the stadium, with its distinctive arches and the Olympic torch that sits above them, is one of the most recognizable architectural features in college football.
The USC game day experience begins with the Spirit of Troy, the Trojan Marching Band, performing outside the Coliseum before kickoff. The band enters the stadium playing “Conquest,” the fight fanfare that signals a USC score or a moment of maximum energy in the game. “Fight On” is the fight song, played throughout the game and sung by the crowd. “Tribute to Troy” is a third piece in the band’s core repertoire. The tunnel entrance has been described by ESPN as unfolding like a Hollywood stage premiere. Cameras inside the locker room show the players walking through the Coliseum’s long underground corridor before emerging through a curtain onto the field. In a stadium a mile from the film industry, that framing is not accidental.
After every USC score, Traveler gallops around the Coliseum. Traveler is a white horse ridden by a Trojan warrior in full costume, and as the Spirit of Troy plays “Conquest.” The tradition began in 1961 when USC’s director of special events spotted Richard Saukko riding his white horse in the Rose Parade. Traveler IX is the current horse. According to USC legend, O.J. Simpson chose USC over other schools after seeing Traveler on a televised football game. The horse that helped recruit a Heisman winner still gallops after every touchdown.
“The Coliseum has hosted two Super Bowls, the 1959 World Series, a Papal Mass, visits from multiple U.S. presidents, and the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games. For USC students, it is an integral part of the college experience. There’s a sense of pride and nostalgia that comes with stepping into this historic arena, where legends have been made and unforgettable moments have occurred.”
USC Undergraduate Admission Blog · Athletic Traditions at USC ·
— THE IDENTITY —
What Fight On Means, How USC Built Its Legacy, and What the Notre Dame Rivalry Defines
“Fight On” is two words that compress the entire Trojan identity into a chant, a salute, and a farewell. USC fans use it the way Oklahoma fans use Boomer Sooner: as a reflexive response to any situation involving another Trojan. Two alumni meet at a conference in New York. Someone throws up a V with the index and middle fingers, the SC hand sign, and says Fight On. The other responds Fight On. No additional context is required. It is the most efficient possible expression of belonging.
The legacy USC built over the 20th century is primarily associated with two eras. The John McKay era in the 1960s and early 1970s produced four national championships and established the program as the dominant force in West Coast football. The Pete Carroll era from 2001 to 2009 produced two national championships, seven consecutive Pac-10 titles, and a run of dominance that produced three Heisman winners in four years: Carson Palmer in 2002, Matt Leinart in 2004, and Reggie Bush in 2005. These joined earlier winners O.J. Simpson (1968), Charles White (1979), and Marcus Allen (1981). The program has produced eight Heisman winners in total, Caleb Williams added an eighth in 2022.
The Notre Dame rivalry is the oldest intersectional rivalry in college football. First played in 1926, it is the game that carries the most historical weight for USC fans. The Jeweled Shillelagh, a trophy decorated with a gem for each game’s winner, has been contested since 1952. Notre Dame leads the all-time series. USC has won enough of the recent matchups to keep the rivalry genuinely competitive. For the complete history of what the series has meant to both programs, the College Rivalries breakdown covers it in full. The 2026 game is October 24 at Notre Dame Stadium.
— THE GLOSSARY —
USC Trojans Fan Glossary: Eight Terms Every New Fan Needs to Know
USC has a specific vocabulary. Here are the eight terms that make everything else make sense.
Fight On
The USC fight song, the universal Trojan greeting, and the two words that compress the entire USC identity into a chant. Used as a salutation, a farewell, a cheer, and a declaration. Accompanied by the SC hand sign: index and middle fingers extended in a V, held up at shoulder height. USC fans use it at games, at airports, at meetings, and in any situation where two Trojans identify each other. It is the Trojan equivalent of Boomer Sooner or Roll Tide, without the call-and-response structure: Fight On stands alone.
The Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Home of USC football since 1923. Capacity 77,500. Site of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games, two Super Bowls, the 1959 World Series, and a Papal Mass. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1984. The peristyle end with its Olympic torch is one of the most recognizable architectural features in college sports. Few stadiums in college football combine this kind of history, location, and institutional weight. When USC fans say “the Coliseum,” they say it with the full understanding of what that building has witnessed.
Traveler
The white horse who gallops around the Coliseum after every USC score, ridden by a Trojan warrior in full costume, as the Spirit of Troy plays “Conquest.” The tradition began in 1961. Traveler IX is the current horse. Legend holds that O.J. Simpson chose USC after seeing Traveler on a televised football game. The Trojan Marching Band’s “Conquest” fanfare and Traveler’s gallop are the two simultaneous signals that USC has scored. One is heard. The other is seen. Both are unmistakable.
The Spirit of Troy
The USC Trojan Marching Band, known formally as the Spirit of Troy. Approximately 300 members. Responsible for the game day musical program including “Fight On,” “Conquest,” and “Tribute to Troy.” Has made notable appearances on television and at major events beyond college football. The band enters the stadium playing Conquest, which is also the signal for Traveler’s gallop after a score. Its presence at the Coliseum is the most consistent sound of USC game day across more than a century.
Tommy Trojan
The bronze statue of a Trojan warrior at the center of the USC campus, sword raised, facing north. A campus landmark and the model for the Trojan warrior costume worn by the rider of Traveler. USC fans touch the sword for good luck before games. The statue is also the site of a rivalry tradition: UCLA students have historically attempted to deface Tommy Trojan before the crosstown rivalry game, and USC has historically guarded it in the days before the game. The guardianship of Tommy Trojan is one of the more literal expressions of rivalry in college football.
Conquest
The USC fight fanfare, played by the Spirit of Troy at key moments in the game: after a score, before kickoff, and as a rallying call when the crowd needs to be energized. “Conquest” is the signal that Traveler is about to gallop. It is also, for USC fans who grew up watching games at the Coliseum, the sound that means something good just happened. “Fight On” is the song. “Conquest” is the sound.
The Jeweled Shillelagh
The trophy contested in the Notre Dame-USC rivalry. A shillelagh, an Irish walking stick, decorated with a gem for each game in the series since 1952: a ruby-adorned Trojan head for USC victories and an emerald-studded shamrock for Notre Dame wins. Notre Dame leads the all-time series. The Shillelagh lives in South Bend when Notre Dame holds it and in Los Angeles when USC does. The 2026 game is October 24 at Notre Dame Stadium.
The Victory Bell
The trophy contested in the USC-UCLA rivalry, known as the Battle of Los Angeles. A 295-pound bronze bell that originally hung at UCLA’s Kerckhoff Hall. It was stolen by USC students in 1941 and has been the formal rivalry trophy since 1942. The winning team’s colors are painted on the bell’s wheel after each game. USC has won the series more often, but the rivalry’s recent history has been competitive. The game alternates between the Coliseum and the Rose Bowl.
Two Olympic Games. Two Super Bowls. Eight Heisman winners. A white horse that has galloped after every score since 1961. A tunnel entrance described as a Hollywood stage premiere. A band playing Conquest as the horse comes out. A Jeweled Shillelagh that travels between Los Angeles and South Bend. A program that spent a century in the Pac-12 and moved to the Big Ten without leaving its stadium.
Fight On.
RELATED ON SIDELINE SPORTS
→ Fandom of the Week: Notre Dame Fighting Irish / Culture Clash
→ The 12 Greatest College Football Rivalries: Ranked and Explained / Culture Clash
→ College Football Fan Culture: Why It Hits Different / Culture Clash
→ Iconic Stadiums Worth Traveling For: The Sports Fan’s Bucket List / Off the Field
