BLUE PRINT
Brotherhood
No man is more important than The Team.
Off the field, together
Brotherhood Activities
The bonds built in Schembechler Hall last long after the final whistle.
Bo Schembechler
The Team, The Team, The Team
“The Team, The Team, The Team” is the legendary rallying cry coined by Hall of Fame head football coach Bo Schembechler, emphasizing that the collective success and unity of the group are vastly more important than any individual player or coach.
No man is more important than The Team. No coach is more important than The Team. The Team, The Team, The Team, and if we think that way, all of us, everything that you do, you take into consideration what effect does it have on my Team?… Think what a great thing it is to be a part of something that is The Team.Bo Schembechler
Read the full speech
We want the Big Ten championship and we’re gonna win it as a Team. They can throw out all those great backs, and great quarterbacks, and great defensive players, throughout the country and in this conference, but there’s gonna be one Team that’s gonna play solely as a Team.
No man is more important than The Team. No coach is more important than The Team. The Team, The Team, The Team, and if we think that way, all of us, everything that you do, you take into consideration what effect does it have on my Team? Because you can go into professional football, you can go anywhere you want to play after you leave here. You will never play for a Team again. You’ll play for a contract. You’ll play for this. You’ll play for that. You’ll play for everything except the team, and think what a great thing it is to be a part of something that is The Team.
We’re gonna win it. We’re gonna win the championship again because we’re gonna play as a team, better than anybody else in this conference, we’re gonna play together as a team. We’re gonna believe in each other, we’re not gonna criticize each other, we’re not gonna talk about each other, we’re gonna encourage each other. And when we play as a team, when the old season is over, you and I know, it’s gonna be Michigan again, Michigan.
Since 1969
Those Who Stay Will Be Champions
This championship statement coined by legendary coach Bo Schembechler has been the rallying cry of Michigan football since 1969.
When many players left the program prior to the start of the 1969 season Schembechler stated the famous phrase ‘Those Who Stay Will Be Champions.’
The statement was realized and fulfilled as the Wolverines upset No. 1 Ohio State by a 24-12 score to capture the Big Ten Championship. The signature victory ended a 22-game unbeaten streak for the Buckeyes and became the hallmark phrase for the Schembechler era and now Michigan football.
The Defense
The Law of the Jungle
This poem by Rudyard Kipling has been the mantra or rallying cry for the defense since Lloyd Carr became the program’s defensive coordinator in 1987.
On Thursday evenings after practice, the Wolverines’ defensive players return to the defensive team room as a group to recite this famous chorus in the dark.
Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky.
And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back.
For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.
Celebrate together
Turnover Buffs
The Michigan Football program began taking turnover photos during the 2021 season to celebrate an opponent miscue gained on defense or special teams. When a player recorded a takeaway, the entire defense or special teams ran to the sideline and snapped a picture. The player who recorded a fumble or collected an interception would pick from a set of ‘buffs’ the pair they would wear in the picture.
‘Buffs’ are Cartier sunglasses that have buffalo horn frames. They were popularized in Detroit, Michigan. Former Michigan and current Arizona Cardinals cornerback Will Johnson came up with the idea and secured the buffs that the players wear.
Chosen by the players
Team Captains
Since Bo Schembechler became head coach at Michigan in 1969, the players have voted for the captains. For the majority of that time, the players eligible to be on the ballot have been fourth- or fifth-year seniors.
The Brown Family created an endowment to honor the team captains each season. Each year during fall camp when the captains are selected, the Brown Family presents the players with a special coin. The past few years the captains have signed a special autograph football that has been given to the Browns, each captain and the head coach.