The Victors " The Victors " is the fight song of the University of Michigan ( UM ) . It was composed by UM student Louis Elbel in 1898 following the last - minute football victory over the University of Chicago that clinched a league championship . John Philip Sousa is quoted as saying The Victors is " the greatest college fight song ever written . " First performed in public in 1899 , " The Victors " did not catch on right away , and did not become Michigan ' s official fight song until many years later . At the time , the song " There ' ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight " was considered to be the school song . An abbreviated version of the fight song , based on the final refrain , is played after the football team either scores or makes a big defensive play , such as an interception . Its full lyrics span several verses that run over two minutes long . The melody of the fight song is very similar to the trio section from " The Spirit of Liberty March " , published seven months earlier by Tin Pan Alley composer George " Rosey " Rosenberg . This song is often referred to as " Hail to the Victors , " which is not correct . The phrase " champions of the West " is often misunderstood , and is in reality a reference to Michigan ' s membership in the Western Conference , later renamed the Big Ten . Accordingly , after Michigan temporarily withdrew from the Western Conference in 1907 , a new Michigan fight song " Varsity " was written in 1911 because the line " champions of the West " was no longer appropriate . Both songs were highly popular , and with Michigan ' s reentry to the Western Conference in 1917 , followed by an undefeated football season in 1918 , the lyrics to The Victors became apt once again . The lyrics are unusual for a fight song , in that the typical fight song exhorts its team to play well and win , whereas " The Victors " is sung in celebration of a win after the fact . The University ' s Flint branch campus selected " The Victors " as their sports nickname in an unofficial student vote . Uses and performances . The chorus of the song ( " Hail ! to the victors valiant , " etc . ) is played at all University of Michigan sports competitions , as well as many UM band events , first year student orientation and welcoming events , and graduation commencement ceremonies . When the song is played at any event , most fans stand and clap in rhythm until the chorus . During the chorus , fans clap and sing along and thrust their fists in the air at each repetition of the word " Hail ! " This raising of the fist during the chorus has become a well - known sight indicative of UM athletics and school spirit . Recently , fans have started to yell the phrase " Go Blue ! " at the conclusion of the chorus . However , during hockey games , it is more common to insert " Let ' s Go Blue ! " in between the two stanzas of the chorus ( after the line " . . . leaders and best . " ) than it is to end with " Go Blue ! " More recently , the hockey fans at Yost Ice Arena have begun adopting the football cheer version and ending in " Go Blue ! " in addition to the aforementioned " Let ' s Go Blue ! " in the middle of the song . Since UM athletics and " The Victors " are both popular , the University of Michigan has also used the words to the fight song as an advertising tool . For example , commercials for the University of Michigan Health System ' s " The Michigan Difference " campaign have featured the words to the chorus of " The Victors " over pictures of children in hospital beds , amputees and post - surgical patients living active lives , and doctors performing surgery . The musical accompaniment to these commercials is a light chamber orchestra / pop rendition of the fight song . UM alumnus Gerald R . Ford , the 38th President of the United States , often had the Naval band play the fight song prior to state events instead of " Hail to the Chief " . He also selected the song to be played during his December 2006 funeral procession at the U . S . Capitol . The Michigan Marching Band played this tune for him one final time , for his last ride from the Gerald R . Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids , Michigan . Lyrics . There were also , an alternate set of lyrics that were found in University athletic files circa the 1920s . It is not known if Elbel or someone else wrote them -