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50 free USC trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This USC trivia quiz covers the University of Southern California from its founding in 1880 with 53 students to today's Big Ten powerhouse. It asks how the Trojans got their name, why the horse is called Traveler, who sculpted Tommy Trojan, which dental student wrote "Fight On", and how the marching band ended up on a Fleetwood Mac record. Sports fans get plenty of football: the eight Heisman winners, the Thundering Herd, John McKay and Pete Carroll, the Jeweled Shillelagh and the Victory Bell, plus Rod Dedeaux's baseball dynasty and USC's Olympic medal haul. There are questions on the campus too, from Doheny Library and the Coliseum to the film school George Lucas paid to expand, and on alumni ranging from a moonwalker to a Nobel chemist. Easy questions cover colours and mascots; the hard end gets into presidents, dates and record books. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on USC, Trojan athletics and campus landmarks, and each question shows its source once you have answered.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In what year was the University of Southern California founded?
1880
It opened with 53 students and 10 faculty, and its first graduating class in 1884 was three people, with a woman as valedictorian.
Q 02Which judge led the effort to found USC, securing land and donations from early Los Angeles figures?
Robert M. Widney
Widney Alumni House, built in 1880, is still the oldest university building in Southern California.
Q 03USC was originally operated in affiliation with which church?
Methodist
Until 1912 the athletes were even known as the Fighting Methodists or Wesleyans, names the university never approved.
Q 04How many students were enrolled when USC opened its doors?
53
There were 10 faculty; today enrollment is more than 47,000.
Q 05What are USC's official colours?
Cardinal and gold
Blue and gold belong to crosstown rival UCLA, whose fans have repeatedly painted Tommy Trojan in those colours.
Q 06Which Los Angeles Times sportswriter gave USC its Trojans nickname in 1912?
Owen Bird
President George F. Bovard approved the name officially; Braven Dyer was the Times writer who later predicted the UCLA game would become a spectacle.
Q 07What is the official name of the bronze statue nicknamed Tommy?
The Trojan Shrine
It was unveiled during the university's 50th Jubilee in 1930 and lists five ideal Trojan attributes on its base: Faithful, Scholarly, Skillful, Courageous and Ambitious.
Q 08Sculptor Roger Noble Burnham used which people as visual references for Tommy Trojan?
USC football players
Russ Saunders, Ernie Pinckert, Henry Becker, Larry Stevens and John Ward all posed; the statue was unveiled in 1930.
Q 09What kind of animal is Traveler, USC's official mascot?
A white horse
Traveler I first galloped into the Coliseum in 1961; the current mascot is Traveler IX.
Q 10When Traveler debuted in 1961, rider Richard Saukko wore a Trojan costume borrowed from which film?
Ben-Hur
The costume Charlton Heston had worn proved too heavy, so Saukko made his own leather outfit for 1962, and that design is still used.
Q 11Against which opponent did Traveler make his first appearance at the Coliseum in 1961?
Georgia Tech
It was the football home opener; the horse had been bought in 1957 already named, after proving unreliable as a movie horse.
Q 12USC's fight song "Fight On" was composed in 1922 by Milo Sweet, who was a student of what?
Dentistry
He wrote it with Glen Grant for a student spirit competition; the two-fingered "V" salute now goes with it.
Q 13The Trojan Marching Band's victory march "Conquest" was written by Alfred Newman for which 1947 film?
Captain from Castile
The band adopted it a few years after the film; it is played after every USC touchdown and win.
Q 21Under coach Howard Jones (1925-1940), USC's dominant teams earned which nickname?
The Thundering Herd
That era brought the program's first four national titles; the Wild Bunch was a 1969 defensive line.
Q 22Which coach led USC to four national championships between 1962 and 1974?
John McKay
His teams also produced Heisman winners Mike Garrett and O.J. Simpson before he left for the NFL's expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Q 23Who was the first USC quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy, in 2002?
Carson Palmer
He carried every voting region; Leinart followed two years later and Caleb Williams in 2022.
Q 14In 1979 the USC Trojan Marching Band recorded the title track of which Fleetwood Mac album?
Tusk
The band later appeared on The Dance in 1997 and has backed Radiohead, Beyoncé and Michael Jackson.
Q 15Which director led the Spirit of Troy marching band for over 50 years, until 2020?
Arthur C. Bartner
He took over in 1970 and shaped "Hollywood's Band"; Herb Alpert is a famous alumnus of the trumpet section.
Q 16The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was built as a memorial to veterans of which war?
World War I
It was completed in 1923 and rededicated in 1968 to all US war veterans; USC beat Pomona 23-7 in the first game there.
Q 17Including 2028, how many Summer Olympics have been awarded to the LA Memorial Coliseum?
3
It hosted in 1932, when it was expanded to more than 101,000 seats, and again in 1984.
Q 18Which historic NFL game was played at the Coliseum in January 1967?
Super Bowl I
It was then called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game; the stadium also hosted Super Bowl VII.
Q 19USC first fielded a football team in 1888, beating which opponent 16-0 in its first game?
Alliance Athletic Club
The program now claims 11 national championships and has sent more than 580 players to the NFL draft.
Q 20How many Heisman Trophy winners has USC produced, the most of any university?
8
Five tailbacks and three quarterbacks have won it, from Mike Garrett in 1965 to Caleb Williams in 2022.
Q 24In 1981, which Trojan became only the second player in NCAA history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season?
Marcus Allen
He finished with 2,342 yards and is the only player to win the Heisman, a national title, a Super Bowl, NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP.
Q 25Which USC running back forfeited his 2005 Heisman Trophy in 2010, only to have it reinstated in 2024?
Reggie Bush
The NCAA had ruled he was ineligible for accepting improper benefits; the "Bush Push" against Notre Dame is his other claim to fame.
Q 26Which coach revived USC football from 2001 to 2009 before leaving to coach the Seattle Seahawks?
Pete Carroll
He won seven straight conference titles and later became only the third coach to win a college national title and a Super Bowl.
Q 27Lincoln Riley was hired as USC's head coach in November 2021 after five years at which school?
Oklahoma
Quarterback Caleb Williams followed him west and won the 2022 Heisman with school-record passing numbers.
Q 28Which NFL team took USC's Caleb Williams with the first overall pick of the 2024 draft?
Chicago Bears
He had set USC single-season records for passing yards and touchdowns while winning the 2022 Heisman.
Q 29USC and Notre Dame play each year for what trophy?
The Jeweled Shillelagh
The Irish club is made of oak or blackthorn from Ireland, and a jewelled ornament is added for each win; the series began in 1926.
Q 30The USC-Notre Dame series is said to have begun in 1926 after a talk between whose wives?
Knute Rockne and USC athletic director Gwynn Wilson
Rockne resisted the travel until Mrs Rockne spoke to him; USC joined the Irish schedule on December 4, 1926.