Twenty-one years ago, the Mighty Utah Student Section (MUSS) did not exist. Today, it’s the top student section in college football, according to ESPN. In collaboration with Taco Bell, the “worldwide leader in sports” named the MUSS its Live Mas Student Section of the Year.

BEST IN THE NATION@ESPNCFB @tacobell #MeetUsInTheMUSS #StudentSectionSauce pic.twitter.com/ZYvQOKchCh

— The MUSS (@TheMUSS) December 10, 2021

After a year with no fans, the MUSS brought the noise in 2021, helping power Utah Football to its first Pac-12 championship in school history and a trip to the Rose Bowl. With the Rice-Eccles Stadium expansion, the roar from the southeast corner was even mightier as close to 7,000 members made their voices heard.

“The football team, the coaches, everyone’s feeding off the MUSS,” coach Kyle Whittingham said. “They’re like the batteries that make everything go.”

Utah Football and Rice-Eccles Stadium didn’t always have that battery pack. As Whittingham recalled, sections 14-16 in the pre-MUSS days consisted of two students, an old man and his dog. But in the 20 years since its inception, the MUSS has established and implemented such ear-bending, defense-bolstering measures like the 3rd Down Jump and False Start 5s that its prominence and impact have long been felt.

“What I would say to the MUSS is how grateful we are to them,” Utah athletics director Mark Harlan said. “It’s absolutely real when I say they have made a big difference to why we are as good as we are.”

It’s only fitting that the MUSS’ rise to No. 1 coincides with Utah Football’s ascension atop the Pac-12 Conference. The passion and drive of the students and staff—on the field, in the stands, and behind the scenes—provides a support system to excel. To quote the university’s fight song (from which “muss” is actually derived): “Our students are the finest and each one’s a shining star; our yell, you’ll hear it ringing through the mountains near and far!”

To learn more about the history of the MUSS, check out the video below.