In 1913 Harold P. Williams and Norman Loyall McLaren created the Big C fight song to be played by the Cal band. This song was directly inspired by the "dazzling C" on the "rugged Eastern foothills". After the song won the Daily Californians school song competition it quickly became a fan favorite. Today it is one of the most famous fight songs played by the Cal band and is traditionally played first at games and rallies.

This primary source explains the shift in the symbolism and purpose of the Big C in the time period. As it is written into the fight song, the Big C takes on being a symbol of unity within sports fanfare and school pride. Lyrics like "Big C means to fight and strive And win for blue and Gold" stress that the Big C is a symbol of pride and a motivating factor in sports. This fight song without a doubt helped boost the Big C's popularity and relevance. It is interesting to speculate if the traditions or importance of the Big C would even still be as big as it is today without this song. As we know, the tradition of passing the "deed" to the C ended in 1911 after the deed was lost. Since the Sopohmores traditionally took over maintaining the C, the significance of the Big C may have fizzled out after the tradition was over. But this song boosted the Big C's relevance and now the rally committee has taken over maintaining it. Overall, the symbol of unity still stands in this time period as the fight song strives for victory under one Big C. But it has become more of a symbol of sports unity and its purpose has been altered to be one synonmous with sports, pride, and fanfare.