Song Puts Fight Into Huskies


The Hartford Courant

February 22, 2009


Sometimes you can't get that jingle out of your head, and if you so desire you can have it as a ringtone on your cellphone.

The UConn fight song, "UConn Husky," was written in the 1940s by Herbert France, who started the music department at the university.

Can't you just hear the beginning:

"U Conn Husky, symbol of might to the foe.

Fight, fight Connecticut, it's victr'y, Let's go

Connecticut U Conn Husky, victr'y again for the White and Blue"

Fight songs. Nothing like them.

How about this line from Air Force's:

"We live in fame or go down in flame!"

Or this from Oklahoma's "Boomer Sooner":

"I'm a Sooner born And a Sooner bred And when I die I'll be Sooner dead."

Then, of course, there's Tennessee's "Rocky Top," with this gem:

"Once I had a girl on Rocky Top

Half bear the other half cat

Wild as a mink but sweet as soda pop"

Back to the Huskies.

David Mills, who is in charge of the UConn bands, has plenty of students to direct. There are 110 in the pep bands, which basically are divided into three groups: Blue, White and Husky.

"Students audition for the bands in October," Mills said. "Twenty-nine students are chosen for each of the Blue and White bands. Those kids follow a schedule of games - both men's and women's basketball - throughout the season, including winter break, and will follow the teams through tournament play [ Big East and NCAA]. The Husky band members can determine their own schedule, signing up for 20 extra positions for each home game. They will not be part of the tournament bands. The NCAA sets the number for tournaments at 29 members and one director."

There are 309 in the marching band, filling six buses for home football games at Rentschler Field. Whether you're in the pep band or the marching band, you better get the song right. Just like Jim, Geno and Randy like their kids to do things right, so does Mills, who has been at the school since 1990, when he had 130 in the marching band.

"We send the parts out to the marching band members [pdf files] before they come to campus," Mills said. "We do rehearse the fight song because I insist on it being played with great precision and style - no matter what the situation."

So what makes a good fight song?

"Strong, straight-forward melody, lots of energy and drive, very singable, strong identity," Mills said.

Does UConn's measure up?

"Yes," he said. "It's very good and very distinctive. The spelling of Connecticut in the middle adds a lot. And the ending is great."

UConn, like other schools, has various fight songs. One - "The UConn Husky" - was written in 1938 by Fred Waring, a band leader who had a radio show. But the one most played is "UConn Husky."