Michigan Wolverines Football Traditions

Discover the many great Michigan Wolverine traditions embedded in their football program. We answer the question as to why they’re called the Wolverines, the story behind the legendary Victors fight song, winged helmets and more.

Michigan Nickname: Wolverines

The Big House rocks when Big Blue makes their entrance into the stadium.

If you’re ever watching the television program “Unsolved Mysteries,” don’t be surprised if the University of Michigan nickname isn’t examined. Since the earliest memories of Michigan athletics, its teams have been known as the Wolverines. However, there is no known reason why this animal was ever associated with the university. There has never been verified trapping of a wolverine inside the state, nor have there been any skeletal remains of a wolverine found that would suggest a history with wolverines in the state.

The nickname topic has been debated through the years. Legendary Michigan football coach shared his theory when he wrote about the subject in the 1944 Michigan Quarterly Review. Yost thought the nickname evolved from the trading of wolverine pelts at a Sault Ste. Marie trading station. The fur traders may have referred to the Michigan trappers as “Michigan Wolverines.” This fact would have led to the state nickname and eventually to the University.

Albert H. Marckwardt described another theory eight years later in the 1952 Michigan Quarterly Review. His thoughts focused on when the French first settled in Michigan in the late 1700s. Their appetites were so gluttonous or “wolverine-like” that the wolverine name was given to them.

A border dispute between Michigan and Ohio in 1803 is the catalyst for the third nickname theory. While the two sides fought over the proper establishment of the state line, the Michiganders were said to have called themselves wolverines for their fierce negotiating skills. The Ohio version leaned more toward the wolverine name being more associated with the gluttonous “wolverine” habits of the Michigan natives.

Michigan Winged Helmets – More than a Passing Fancy

When considering Division I-A football helmet designs you would be hard-pressed to find one that has generated as much curiosity as Michigan’s winged helmet. Many fans have certainly wondered what the helmet’s design is supposed to symbolize.

When Fritz Crisler arrived in Ann Arbor as the new head coach in 1938 he brought with him from Princeton ideas for enhancing the helmet. He quickly transformed the black helmets into the winged style that is now the most continually used design in the Big 10 Conference.

Crisler not only made a fashion statement with the new headgear, but the change also helped to elevate the teams passing success.

“There was a tendency to use different-colored helmets just for receivers in those days, he said. “I always thought that would be as helpful for the defense as for the offense,” Crisler added.

The thought proved to be no “passing fancy” as Michigan doubled it passing yardage while nearly cutting its interceptions in half that season.

Michigan Fight Song: Hail to the Victors

Hail to the Victors was the Michigan fight song written by University of Michigan student Louis Elbel in 1898. Louis composed the music during a ferry ride from Mackinac Island, where he spent time working at a hotel. The lyrics were added later by a fellow student and editor of a campus literary magazine named William Herschell.

The inspiration for this iconic fight song came after a thrilling 12-11 football victory against Chicago on November 19, 1898. This victory propelled Michigan’s record to an impressive 7-0, securing them their first undefeated season and claiming them the Western Conference championship title – only their second season as members of this illustrious conference.

The original version consisted of four verses but two were dropped over time due to their irrelevant content which focused on praising then-university president James B Angell. All that remains today is one chorus and two short stanzas:

“Hail! to the victor’s valiant Hail! to the conquering heroes Hail! Hail! to Michigan The leaders and best”

“Hail! To the victor’s valiant Hail! To the champions hail! Hail! To Michigan’s banner ever glorious, it waves forever.”

Although there have been small alterations over time such as adding “to” between various words or changing some tense structure in order to keep up with grammatical standards, Louis Elbel’s timeless classic still stands tall 130 years later as Michigan’s distinguished fight song.

The Victors is College Football’s Best

Sports Illustrated celebrated 150 years of college football in 2019. The sports publication listed the greatest fight songs in college football history. Michigan’s Victors ranked at the top.

#1 Michigan – The Victors
#2 Oklahoma – Boomer Sooner
#3 Tennessee – Rocky Top
#4 Notre Dame – Victory March
#5 Wisconsin – On Wisconsin

Michigan Mascot: The Wolverine Option Didn’t Work Out

Did you hear about Felding Yost’s weird mission to bring a live Wolverine to Ann Arbor? When Wisconsin showed up with a live badger for their football team in 1923, Yost got jealous and started his quest to get a Wolverine. And boy, was it a wild goose chase! He contacted 68 trappers to get a live one, but when that didn’t work, he expanded his search to include a stuffed one. But he even got that wrong and ended up with a stuffed coyote instead of a Wolverine. It wasn’t until 1924 that he finally found a real mounted Wolverine. But Yost didn’t stop there – he wanted one that could still breathe! It wasn’t until three years later that he finally got his wish; 10 Wolverines were shipped from Alaska to their new home at the Detroit Zoo.

Okay, so picture this – the Wolverines football team really wanted to be inspired, so they decided to have wolverines at the stadium. But things did not go as planned. After the 1927 season, they had to stop because it wasn’t safe. Nine of the wolverines went to live at the Detroit Zoo, but one stayed with the school. His name was “Biff” and students could visit him in his cage at the University’s zoo.

On big game days, two of the wolverines would be brought into Michigan Stadium and paraded around in cages. But as the games went on, the wolverines got bigger and scarier. Even Yost, the coach, was confused and said, “It was obvious that the Michigan mascots had designs on the Michigan men touting them, and those , and those designs were by no
means friendly.”