Rutgers Sophomore’s Fight Song Project Snags Big Ten Prize

The Business School student was recognized by the Big Ten Academic Alliance for her project using data to show what makes the Rutgers fight song the best

RU Rah Rah means victory on the field and also for one Rutgers Business School sophomore's project in a Big Ten competition.

Sakshi Sowmya Aravind analyzed the iconic Rutgers fight song as part of the Big Ten Academic Alliance's Student Data Viz Championship, claiming the Judges' Award for Excellence.

Data visualization requires taking raw numbers or other data and creating charts, graphs, or other representations to make the data easier to understand. The competition, part ofLove Data week, challenged students to analyze a common dataset of Power Five conference fight songs and to design a graphic representing their findings. Competition winners received $500 scholarships from the Big Ten Academic Alliance.

"Honestly, in the moment, I couldn't believe it for myself," Aravind said. "I entered the competition so I could showcase my creativity and apply my knowledge from business research methods. When I actually won, I was like, wow - I did it!"

"It was one of the highlights of my year, I would say," she added.

A Supply Chain and Finance double-major who takes classes on the Newark campus, Aravind dove into the challenge. After some preliminary research to prepare for the competition and a consultation with her professor, Nilofar Varzgani, Aravind formed her research question: What makes a college fight song engaging for the crowd?

"For us, college football is the field, and the energy, you know?" Aravind said. "If you've been to a Rutgers game, it's like, oh my goodness, the energy is crazy. I wanted to zero in on that idea. How does a fight song become something an entire audience can sing?"

With some additional research into football and music theory, Aravind found key factors that make a college fight song successful: mentions of winning, victory, or the school itself, and catchy parts, such as spelling the school name or the team name, or the use of "rah" to let the crowd sing along.

Naming these factors "trope count" and "chantability," Aravind presented these findings on a football field, representing individual songs as footballs and depicting those with higher trope counts, better chantability, or both as closer to the end zone.

Through her research and analysis of the dataset, she determined that Rutgers' fight song, "The Bells Must Ring," scored highly in both factors, making it the ultimate crowd pleaser.

"It actually raises the energy very quickly and effectively, and that's what makes it the perfect fight song," she said. "It rallies fans and addresses the crowd."

Rutgers' Community Built for Future Wins

Originally from Bangalore, India, Aravind and her family lived in Pennsylvania before moving to Edison, New Jersey, when she was in elementary school. In addition to her academic studies, Aravind is the co-chair of professional development for the Association of Supply Chain Management chapter on the Newark campus. Ultimately, Aravind hopes to create her own consulting firm that combines her interests in business, data, and art and helps businesses stay creative, strategic, and innovative.

She was drawn to Rutgers for its combination of professional development opportunities and academics. She recalled visiting Rutgers Business School during Admitted Students Day and listening to a faculty advisor speak about networking.

"Networking is not something that's just individual," she said. "I really liked that the focus was on academics and your connections with people. Then I realized that's the type of environment I want to be in, and Rutgers is the place that can help me do both."