When you walk into Davis Wade Stadium for a Mississippi State football game — no matter how good the team is and regardless of the opponent — one thing is constant: the ringing of cowbells by tens of thousands of faithful Bulldog fans. A celebration known across the college football world has been nominated as one of the best traditions in the sport.
USA Today’s 10Best has the routine cowbell-clanging featured among some of college football’s most storied traditions, including Virginia Tech’s iconic entrance to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” the annual Army-Navy game, and the heartstring-pulling “Hawkeye Wave,” where Iowa players and fans interact with patients at the neighboring children’s hospital.
“The sound of clanging cowbells has become an unmistakable display of school spirit at Mississippi State University, with the tradition dating back roughly a century,” a statement from USA Today’s 10Best reads. “According to local legend, it stems from the arrival of a lost cow onto the football field in the middle of a game — and while cowbell-ringing was banned in 1974, it made its triumphant return in 2010, ensuring that this time-honored practice can live on well into the future.”
No tradition rings louder. 🔔 Let’s make the cowbell the #1 College Sports Tradition in the nation!
Vote: https://t.co/vVkHFNcasB pic.twitter.com/5vEh8Owfus
— Mississippi State (@msstate) July 21, 2025
To earn a preseason win ahead of the highly anticipated 2025 campaign, Bulldog fans can vote here for the cowbell as college football’s best tradition. Voting will close on Aug. 17.
As for what folks can expect when Mississippi State kicks off against Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on Aug. 30, second-year Bulldog head coach Jeff Lebby and a trio of his players had a chance last week at SEC Media Days to give fans a sneak peek of the work they’ve put in during the offseason.
Lebby, well aware that he faces four teams that appeared in the most recent College Football Playoff and a myriad of other tough foes, acknowledged that he is embracing the gauntlet ahead of him. Meanwhile, the team’s leaders — defensive back Isaac Smith, quarterback Blake Shapen, and wideout Brenen Thompson — believe the Bulldogs will make waves this year, especially with expectations set low.
