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The Brain Behind U of M's Athletic Campus Honored with Michigan's Iconic Ice Hockey Arena
The Brain Behind U of M's Athletic Campus Honored with Michigan's Iconic Ice Hockey Arena
Yost Ice Arena. Photo source
By Bobby Ziff
Legendary football coach Fielding H. Yost led the Michigan Wolverines to four national championships and supervised the construction of our entire athletic campus. His name is still synonymous with that same winning culture on campus today thanks to his name being on our highly ranked Michigan Ice Hockey arena. Bright lights, roaring fans, and modern renovations have turned a 1923 field house into the most electric rink in the country.
Yost helped build the Yost Field House in 1923, covering an immense playing field and an eight-lane running track (Byler). The building hosted the Michigan basketball and track teams in the fifties and sixties and also allowed for comfortable winter practices for the football and baseball programs. In 1973, the facility underwent a renovation that converted the field house into the Yost Ice Arena. This building underwent additional renovations in 1996, 2006, and 2012 (“Yost Ice Arena”). This included the addition of new bleacher seats, boxes, and improved concessions. Since the renovation, Michigan’s hockey team has continued to dominate and remain a top five team.
Yost Ice Arena. Photo source.
Fielding H. Yost. Photo source.
Fielding H. Yost himself is as legendary as his namesake arena. Yost coached the “Point-a-Minute” teams which won four national championships between 1901-1904 (“University of Michigan Athletics -- Football Coaches”). He also had the longest winning streak in school history with 56 consecutive wins. Along with his coaching career, Yost served as Michigan’s Athletic Director from 1921-41. Under his supervision, the university constructed the Michigan Stadium, the golf course, and the Yost Ice Arena (“University of Michigan Athletics -- Football Coaches”).
His coaching career and impacts on this athletic campus led to his name stamp on our school’s hockey arena; however, over the past few years, The Office of the President at Michigan has received requests to review the naming of the Yost Ice Arena. According to the President's Advisory Committee on University History, Yost’s contributions to athletics at Michigan were “unfairly placed above the profoundly deep and negative impact he had on people of color.” An All About Ann Arbor article explains that “in 1934, Yost benched African American football star Willis Ward after Georgia Tech said it would refuse to play the Wolverines at home if an African American player was allowed on the field” (Bruckner). With this information, community members have concluded that Yost may have had racial motives as coach and is undeserving of the honorary naming of the ice arena.
The name Yost traces its roots to the name Judoc, meaning lord, according to BehindTheName.com. Yost also shares history with the names Iost and Jost (“Yost genealogy"). "In America, Yost was gradually adopted as the spelling of the name Jost because the first letter of the name was pronounced like a "Y" as in Yes rather than like a "J" as in John," according to the geneology website family-history.com. The name Fielding means “living in the field” (“Fielding”). This is extremely symbolic of Yost’s legacy as he spent his entire career succeeding on the football field, then ultimately building numerous fields on Michigan’s campus.
Yost Ice Arena has immense historic value to this university and despite the controversy surrounding his name, Fielding H. Yost and the ice arena’s winning sports legacy will continue to be remembered for many years to come.
Works Cited
“2022-23 Yost Ice Arena Guide.” University of Michigan Athletics, https://mgoblue.com/sports/2017/6/16/yostguide.aspx.
Bruckner, Meredith. “University of Michigan Seeks Feedback on Recommendation to Remove Yost Name from Ice Arena.” WDIV, WDIV ClickOnDetroit, 24 May 2021, https://www.clickondetroit.com/all-about-ann-arbor/2021/05/24/university-of-michigan-seeks-feedback-on-recommendation-to-remove-yost-name-from-ice-arena/#//.
Broome, Anthony. “Potential Name Change Recommended for Yost Ice Arena.” Maize n Brew, Maize n Brew, 26 May 2021, https://www.maizenbrew.com/2021/5/26/22454951/weighing-in-on-a-potential-name-change-for-yost-ice-arena.
Byler, Laney. “Yost Ice Arena: A Michigan Tradition.” The Michigan Daily, 20 Apr. 2021, https://www.michigandaily.com/ice-hockey/yost-ice-arena-michigan-hockey-tradition/.
“Fielding.” SheKnows, 22 Aug. 2018, https://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/fielding/#:~:text=English%20Baby%20Names%20Meaning%3A,is%3A%20Lives%20in%20the%20field.
Loomis, Bill. “Fielding Yost, Godfather of UM Sports.” The Detroit News, 30 Oct. 2017, https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan-history/2017/10/28/fielding-yost-godfather-michigan-sports/107078302/.
Soderstrom, Robert M. The Big House: Fielding H. Yost and the Building of Michigan Stadium. Huron River Press, 2005.
Staff, The Detroit News. “Fielding Yost, the Man Who Created Michigan Football.” Detroit Local News - Michigan News - Breaking News, The Detroit News, 27 Nov. 2019, https://www.detroitnews.com/picture-gallery/news/local/michigan-history/2017/10/25/fielding-yost-the-man-who-created-michigan-football/107013758/.
Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears.https://forebears.io/surnames/yost#:~:text=Yost%20is%20an%20anglicization%20of,of%20Jodocus%20('lord').
“University of Michigan Athletics -- Football Coaches.” BHL Header, https://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/coaches/fhyost.htm.
“Yost Ice Arena.” University of Michigan Athletics, https://mgoblue.com/sports/2017/6/16/facilities-yost-arena-html.aspx.
“Yost Ice Arena.” Destination Ann Arbor, https://www.annarbor.org/listing/yost-ice-arena/1407/.
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