Women and the 'M'

Sheryl Szady, a leader of the movement to claim the varsity 'M', holds a varsity jacket in 1975.

Since the organization of Michigan sports in the 1860s, the varsity ‘M’ award has been a fundamental of U-M athletics. For most of its existence, the privilege of wearing the ‘M’ was a right reserved exclusively for men. Nonetheless, women challenged this practice multiple times throughout the 20^th century. Women first began petitioning for the 'M' in 1914, but it would not be until 1992 that women would be recognized the same way as men.