Fightin' words: University changes 'Utah Man' lyrics


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SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah announced Wednesday changes to its school fight song “Utah Man” after the school’s student government passed legislation to change the song.

“The lyrics sung today are not identical to those sung in 1914, and are not likely to remain unaltered in the century to come. However, these lyrics have emotional significance for many,” university President David Pershing said in a statement.

Pershing said changes to the school’s song will “preserve tradition while building on a legacy of all members of our university community.”

"We know that individuals are very passionate about this song, passionate on both sides of the issue," Barbara Snyder, vice president of student affairs, told KSL. "We're trying to strike a balance between honoring our past and looking to the future."

The changes to the school song will be as follows:

  • The word “fan” will be inserted after the word “man” as an alternative lyric.
  • Change the phrase “our coeds are the fairest” to “our students are the finest.”


We know that individuals are very passionate about this song, passionate on both sides of the issue. We're trying to strike a balance between honoring our past and looking to the future.

–Barbara Snyder


  1. Change the phrase “no other gang of college men” to “no rival band of college fans.” "Those are the changes we think help honor and preserve our history and tradition, but also build on our legacy of inclusion on the campus," Snyder said.

In May, university President David Pershing announced a committee that would review potential changes after some students took issue with the song. The committee considered public input, in addition to the comments made in discussion of the legislation passed by the student government.

“When printed officially by the university, this 2014 version of the fight song will be used, but historical renditions of the song will always be acceptable,” Pershing said. “We encourage you to sing — loudly and with pride — whichever version resonates with you.”

"We're not enforcing changing the song," Snyder said. "We're not requiring anybody or monitoring it or removing it from our history. We want people to sing what they're comfortable singing. We just wanted to provide some options for those who are comfortable singing, "I am a Utah Man."

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