If you’re watching a College football game, no matter who’s playing, whether it’s Ohio State University or the University of Oregon there’s one constant and that is mascots. Every college has some version of a mascot. It could be a live one like how the University of Texas has a longhorn cow because their athletics teams are named the Texas Longhorns or a person in a suit like the Oregon Ducks from the University of Oregon. But why do the Michigan Wolverines, the winningest football program of all time, from the University of Michigan not have one? Well at one time they did.

Back in 1923 Michigan’s football coach at the timem Fielding Yost, wanted to have a live Wolverine after seeing the University of Wisconsin have a live Badger as the mascot of its football team. He sent out letters to 68 trappers asking for a live Wolverine but later expanded the search to just a Wolverine no matter what. The coach ended up getting a dead one from the Hudson‘s Bay Fur Company in 1924, but Coach Yost still wanted a live one. 

3 years later, the Detroit Zoo got 10 Wolverines from Alaska and the University of Michigan made a deal so they could borrow two for game days during the season. 

Once the University of Michigan acquired the Wolverines they named them Biff and Bennie and were held in a cage during the games. Sadly, they only lasted one season due to their very aggressive nature. Biff was put in the zoo at the University of Michigan and Bennie was returned to the Detroit Zoo.   

The University of Michigan once tried to have a live wolverine again in 1939 due to the Chevrolet Motor Company donating a Wolverine but once again it did not work and stuck for only one game, again due to its overly aggressive nature.

In the end, I would say the University of Michigan doesn’t need a mascot as their block M logo has become iconic.