Editing University of Michigan (section)

===Fight songs and chants===

[[File:Singing_The_Yellow_and_the_Blue_between_halves_of_the_Penn_Game,_1916.png|thumb|Singing ''[[The Yellow and Blue|The Yellow and the Blue]]'' between halves of the [[University of Pennsylvania|Penn]] Game, November 1916]]

The Michigan fight song, "[[The Victors]]", was written by student Louis Elbel in 1898. The song was declared by [[John Philip Sousa]] to be "the greatest college fight song ever written."<ref>{{Cite book |last = Michael Hondorp, Fabrikant Alexis |title = University of Michigan College Prowler Off the Record |date = January 1, 2005 |publisher = College Prowler, Inc |isbn = 1-59658-163-8 |page = 118 }}</ref> The song refers to the teams as being "the Champions of the West". At the time, the Big Ten Conference was known as the Western Conference.

Although mainly used at sporting events, the Michigan fight song is often heard at other events as well. U.S. President [[Gerald Ford]] had it played by the [[United States Marine Band]] as his entrance anthem during his term as president from 1974 to 1977, in preference over the more traditional "[[Hail to the Chief]]",<ref>{{Cite book |last = Rozell |first = Mark J. |title = The Press and the Ford Presidency |date = October 15, 1992 |publisher = University of Michigan Press |isbn = 0-472-10350-4 |page = 38 }}</ref> and the Michigan Marching Band performed a slow-tempo variation of the fight song at [[Death and state funeral of Gerald Ford|his funeral]].<ref>{{Cite news |last = Singer |first = Michelle |date = January 3, 2007 |title = Gerald Ford Returns Home For The Last Time |url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gerald-ford-returns-home-for-the-last-time/ |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090221044716/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/02/politics/main2320308.shtml |archive-date = February 21, 2009 |access-date = February 18, 2010 |work = CBS News }}</ref> The fight song is also sung during graduation commencement ceremonies. The university's alma mater song is "[[The Yellow and Blue]]". A common rally cry is "[[Let's Go Blue]]!" which has a complementary short musical arrangement written by former students Joseph Carl, a sousaphonist, and Albert Ahronheim, a [[Drum major (marching band)|drum major]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last = Stieg |first = Bill |date = May 21, 1984 |title = A Catchy Intro To A Cheer Became Music To The Ears Of Myriad Fans |url = https://vault.si.com/vault/1984/05/21/a-catchy-intro-to-a-cheer-became-music-to-the-ears-of-myriad-fans/ |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081202160254/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122081/index.htm |archive-date = December 2, 2008 |access-date = December 25, 2008 |magazine = Sports Illustrated }}</ref>

Before "The Victors" was officially the university's fight song, the song "[[There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight]]" was considered to be the school song.<ref>{{Cite web |year = 1999 |title = The Michiganesian Yearbook |url = http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/University_Michigan_Michiganensian_Yearbook/1999/Page_186.html |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120217110348/http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/University_Michigan_Michiganensian_Yearbook/1999/Page_186.html |archive-date = February 17, 2012 |access-date = April 9, 2012 |page = 186 }}</ref> After Michigan temporarily withdrew from the Western Conference in 1907, a new Michigan fight song, "[[Varsity (fight song)|Varsity]]", was written in 1911 because the line "champions of the West" was no longer appropriate.<ref>{{Cite web |title = The Eugene Fischer Years: 1906–1914 |url = http://mmb.music.umich.edu/node/43351 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120331162125/http://mmb.music.umich.edu/node/43351 |archive-date = March 31, 2012 |access-date = April 9, 2012 |website = Michigan Marching Band website |publisher = Regents of the University of Michigan }}</ref>