9.1 Rivalries 9.2 Mascots 9.3 Marching band 9.4 Spirit groups

3.2 List of university presidents
3.3 Department of Public Safety
4 Academics
4.1 University library system
4.2 Rankings
5 Student body
5.1 Admissions
6 Faculty and research
7 Alumni
8 Athletics
8.1 Men's sports
8.2 Women's sports
9 Traditions and student activities
9.1 Rivalries
9.2 Mascots
9.3 Marching band
9.4 Spirit groups
9.5 Student media
9.6 Greek life
10 Popular media
11 Notes
11.1 Footnotes
12 References and notes
13 External links
History[edit]



The Widney Alumni House, the campus' first building
The University of Southern California was founded following the efforts of Judge Robert M. Widney, who helped secure donations from several figures in early Los Angeles history: a Protestant nurseryman, Ozro Childs, an Irish Catholic former-Governor, John Gately Downey, and a German Jewish banker, Isaias W. Hellman. The three donated 308 lots of land to establish the campus and provided the necessary seed money for the construction of the first buildings. Originally operated in affiliation with the Methodist Church, the school mandated from the start that "no student would be denied admission because of race." The university is no longer affiliated with any church, having severed formal ties in 1952.
When USC opened in 1880, tuition was $15.00 per term and students were not allowed to leave town without the knowledge and consent of the university presi