Michigan Football Helmets Have New Sticker ‘EUTM’, But What Does It Mean?

The University of Michigan has had a long tradition with its winged design football helmet and a new sticker has been introduced this year "EUTM" but what's it mean?

Get our free mobile app

History of Michigan's Football Helmet

The University of Michigan football helmet has changed a bit over the years. 1930 to sometime in 1936 the team used the vintage leather helmet that had been a standard since the sport was created. Michigan used this helmet 3 more times in 1937 before changing it to add color.

The above old movie poster shows the Michigan helmet that was used for the rest of the 1937 games when the Wolverines added color to match their uniforms.

It wasn't until 1938 when Coach Herbert O. "Fritz" Crisler came along to bring in a new era for the Wolverines and added the famous "Winged" design to the team helmet. This helmet style lasted until the end of the 1956 season.

In 1957, a helmet that is more traditional like the ones we see today was created for the Wolverines which has evolved drastically since then.

Today's Michigan helmet still has the winged style with the exception of the "M" that is located on the front with its maize and blue colors.

When Did Michigan Players Start Receiving Stickers On their Helmets?

It was 1969 when Michigan hired Coach Bo Schembechler to lead the Wolverines. When Schembechler arrived he brought along a sticker reward system that he used when he coached Miami (Ohio). The stickers were put on the helmets to show accomplishments players made in games and practices. It was in 1974 when longtime equipment manager Jon Falk would cut out gold footballs by hand and glue them onto helmets. The sticker tradition on Michigan football helmets lasted until 1981 when they slowly faded away and the team went back to the basic look of maize and blue and no stickers.

Coach Jim Harbaugh Brings Back Stickers to Michigan Helmets

It wasn't until Coach Jim Harbaugh took over the Wolverines in 2015, that the stickers made their way back to players' helmets. In 2016, the maize got a little brighter and the blue had a matte finish that lasted until 2018. 2019, to today the helmet has a full-on matte finish.

What Does the EUTM Sticker on Michigan's Football Helmets Mean?

You may want to take a closer look at Wolverine Kris Jenkins's helmet next time you watch a game because a new sticker called "EUTM" has been added to it. According to Saturday Tradition, Coach Jim Harbaugh announced Jenkins as the poster player for "enthusiasm unknown to mankind" hence the EUTM sticker.

According to MLive, "Attach Each Day With an Enthusiasm Unknown To Mankind" is a phrase that Harbaugh has been using ever since landing the coaching gig at Michigan. Harbaugh said his dad, Jack, came up with the phrase and used the back half of the phrase to create the acronym for the new helmet sticker. There are a few other Michigan players other than Jenkins who've earned the sticker like quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running back Blake Corum, and freshman tight end Zach Marshall.