"Varsity" is a

fight song A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...

of the

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History

It was composed by two Michigan students, J. Fred Lawton and Earl Vincent Moore, while they were riding a street car in Detroit in 1911. Lawton had graduated from Michigan in June 1911, and met Moore in

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that October. Moore suggested to Lawton that the university needed a new fight song, and that the two of them should create it. Lawton wrote the lyrics while Moore composed the music for the song. "Varsity" was written in 1911 as a replacement for "

The Victors "The Victors" is the fight song of the University of Michigan. Michigan student Louis Elbel wrote the song in 1898 after the football team's victory over the University of Chicago, which clinched an undefeated season and the Western Conferen ...

", which includes the line "Champions of the West" that no longer applied to Michigan athletics after the university departed the Western Conference.

Michigan football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

coach Fielding H. Yost pulled Michigan out of the conference in 1907 due to changes made to its recruiting and eligibility rules, and the football team played as an

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for the next decade before rejoining what ultimately became the Big Ten Conference. According to University of Michigan music historian Joseph Dobos, "The Victors" had all but disappeared from campus in the 1900s, and the most popular songs at football games and

pep rallies A pep rally or pep assembly is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school, and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the team. It ...

were the alma mater, " The Yellow and Blue", and a modified version of " Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" that included Michigan-specific lyrics. "Varsity" was first played at a Friday night pep rally held at University Hall on October 6, 1911, where

Michigan Marching Band The Michigan Marching Band (also known as the University of Michigan Marching Band or simply MMB) is the official marching band of the University of Michigan. The band performs at all Michigan Wolverines football home games, select away games, and ...

director Eugene Fischer heard it and agreed to play it the very next day during the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-s ...

's game against Case. It is likely that Fischer made his own band arrangement of the song overnight. After the performance of "Varsity" at halftime of the Case game, ''

The Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'' is the weekly student newspaper of the University of Michigan. Its first edition was published on September 29, 1890. The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the University's administration and other stu ...

'' called it "stirring" and opined that it would become "one of Michigan's most popular songs". It was featured in the

song book A song book is a book containing lyrics for songs. Song books may be simple composition books or spiral-bound notebooks. Music publishers also produced printed editions for group singing. Such volumes were used in the United States by piano manuf ...

''Michigan’s Favorite College Songs'' in 1913, the third and final major song book to be produced by the university. In 1917, "The Victors" began being played again as Michigan returned to the Western Conference, and it surpassed "Varsity" in popularity during the 1920s. In 1951, the "M Fanfare", the university fanfare, was composed from both of Michigan's fight songs, "Varsity" and "The Victors", as well as its alma mater, "The Yellow and Blue". In 1969, Lawton, aged 81, collapsed and died just outside

Michigan Stadium Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House," is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, the third largest stadium in the world, and the ...

following a football game against

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

during which he guest conducted the Michigan Marching Band in playing "Varsity". The marching band continues to play the song regularly at Michigan football games.

Lyrics

References

External links

Lyrics
via the

University of Michigan Men's Glee Club The University of Michigan Men's Glee Club is an all-male glee club (or choir) at the University of Michigan. With roots tracing back to 1859, it is the second oldest glee club in the United States and is the oldest student organization at the ...

{{Michigan Wolverines men's soccer navbox Big Ten Conference fight songs American college songs University of Michigan 1911 songs Music of Ann Arbor, Michigan