The most unique and certainly the loudest symbol of Mississippi State University tradition is the cowbell. Despite decades of attempts by opponents and authorities to banish it from scenes of competition, diehard State fans still celebrate Bulldog victories loudly and proudly with the distinctive sound of ringing cowbells.

“Mississippi State has become the loudest stadium in America. They get those cowbells ringing about three hours before kickoff out in the parking lots. You go through a game there, you come out of there and you can’t hear for about a day and a half. It is unbelievable.” ~SI.com

The precise origin of the cowbell as a fixture of Mississippi State sports tradition has always been unclear. The best records have cowbells gradually introduced to the MSU sports scene in the late 1930s, coinciding with the “golden age” of Mississippi State football success prior to World War II.

The most popular legend is that during a home football game between State and the arch-rival University of Mississippi, a jersey cow wandered onto the playing field. Mississippi State soundly whipped the Rebels that Saturday, and Mississippi State students immediately adopted the cow as a good luck charm. Students are said to have continued bringing a cow to football games for a time, until the practice was eventually stopped in favor of bringing just the cow’s bell.

Whatever the origin, it’s certain that by the 1950s cowbells were common at Mississippi State games, and by the 1960s, they were established as the special symbol of Mississippi State athletics. Ironically, the cowbell’s popularity grew fastest during the long years when State football teams were rarely winning. Flaunting this anachronism from the old Mississippi A&M “Aggie” days was a loud and proud response by students and alumni to outsider ridicule of the university’s “cow college” history.

In the 1960s two MSU professors, Earl W. Terrell and Ralph L. Reeves obliged some students by welding handles on the bells to they could be rung with much more convenience and authority. By 1963 the demand for these long-handled cowbells could not be filled by home workshops alone, so at the suggestion of Reeves, the Student Association bought bells in bulk and the Industrial Education Club agreed to weld handles on. In 1964 the MSU Bookstore began marketing these cowbells with a portion of the profits returning to these student organizations.

Today, many styles of cowbells are available on campus and around Starkville, with the top-of-the-line being a heavy chrome-plated model with a full Bulldog figurine handle. But experts insist that the best and loudest results are produced by a classic long-handled, bicycle-grip bell made of thinner and tightly-welded shells.

Cowbells decorate offices and homes of Mississippi State alumni, and are passed down through generations of Bulldog fans. Anywhere there is a call for a “ring the bell for service” bell, you can bet it will be a cowbell.

In 1974, the Southeastern Conference adopted a rule prohibiting artificial noisemakers that made it illegal to ring a cowbell during games. Despite creative efforts by MSU fans to circumvent the ruling and continue the tradition, the ban lasted for 36 years!

In the spring of 2010, the 12 schools of the SEC agreed to a compromise on artificial noisemakers, publicly recognizing the role cowbells play in the history of Mississippi State University. In the fall of 2010, on a one-year trial with specified restrictions, cowbells were permitted in Davis Wade Stadium for the first time since 1974. And due to MSU fans’ notable adherence to the rules outlined by the league, cowbells have been allowed at MSU home football games since.

“Clanga-Clanga-Clang”