The Official University of Michigan School Colors

Navy blue and bright yellow, right?

Well, not exactly.

True, those are the colors you'll see on the football players every fall, but those aren't the blue and yellow the school started with back in the 19th century.

The U-M's first graduating class was in 1845. Immediately after the ceremony, the entire class—12 students—got together and formed an alumni society. But it wasn't until 1867 that a group of students formally met and adopted azure blue and maize as its official school colors.

However, no one actually specified the exact shades until 1912, when school officials chose fabric ribbons depicting the actual shades. And since colors were not standardized at that time, azure blue could be every shade from a pale sky blue to a deep lapis lazuli, all of which were utilized along with a variety of yellows from the palest lemon to bright gold.

Of course, the athletic department has always been a force unto itself. Eschewing the lighter shades of blue and yellow late adopted for the school's flag, the athletic department determined its particular shades—deep blue and bright yellow (gold)—around the turn of the 19th century, and thus it has stayed for more than 100 years.