Beth Wynn, photographer for the MSU Office of University Relations, uses special studio lighting to shoot a group of cowbells for an upcoming issue of Alumnus magazine. The most unique and certainly the most resounding symbol of MSU tradition, the precise origin of the cowbell as a university sports fixture remains unclear to this day. While the best records have cowbells gradually introduced to the MSU sports scene in the late 1930s and early 1940s, diehard State fans continue to celebrate Bulldog victories loudly and proudly with the distinctive sound of ringing cowbells.