Biff the Wolverine

His name is Biff

by Angelé Anderfuren

Biff. That's the name of the big, bad, ferocious mascot of the University of Michigan Wolverines. In the Winter 2022 semester, there were fliers pasted all over campus making sure that everyone knew the UMich wolverine wasn't sad and nameless (see pic of the fliers to the left). 

Not one to just believe everything posted on a flier (or anywhere else for that matter), I went about looking into the story of the UM mascot and if its name is Biff, how he got such a name.

First off, it's true that the mascot's first name is Biff. And the reason that's his name comes from an actual live wolverine named Biff that once lived on campus in a cage (and at one point even attended UM football games), according to a 2007 article by Greg Kinney on the Bentley Historical Library's website. Biff had a brother named Bennie that also used to attend the games in 1927. But, as the story goes, as Biff and Bennie got older, they got more and more ferocious and did not appreciate being carted around in cages from the Detroit Zoo to games (at Ferry Field, home of Michigan football at the time). So Bennie went back to the zoo and Biff got a special home made for him on campus.

Now, that's not the end of the wolverine mascot story. It's far from that simple. Ten years later the mascot was called Intrepidus! "The Chevrolet Motor Company donated a wolverine (as well as the cage to keep it in) to the University of Michigan. A contest was held to name the new mascot and "Intrepidus" was the winning entry," so the Bentley article goes on to say. (Yes, there was also once a car called Intrepid. It was made in the 90s by Dodge. But that's unrelated to this wolverine tale.)

A decade later, the Wolverine mascot story changes again. In 1948 a "wolverbear" was drawn and turned into a wonky costumed sideline mascot that became known as "Murderwolf," according to MGoBlog.com. They also report that in the 90s, a new stuffed mascot was created by students and was named Willy. A "Murderwolf 2.0" then came about in the late 90s, officially called "Bennie."

The name Biff may seem silly and old fashioned to us now in 2022, but the name comes from the old English word biff, which means to "punch, hit, or strike," according to BeyondTheName.com. Nameberry.com adds, "Biff is boy's name of American origin. The quintessential midcentury nickname, famously found in Arthur Miller's play 'Death of a Salesman'" (first published in 1949) and largely now associated with the idiotic athlete character and antagonist in the movie "Back to the Future" (played by Thomas F. Wilson).

The name Bennie means "blessed" or "strong, brave bear" according to ThinkBabyNames.com. It is a nickname of names like Ben, Benjamin, and Benedict, all which come from the Hebrew word ben, meaning son. It was at its height of popularity around the time the baby wolverine was adopted by UM.

Intrepidus is the Latin word for fearless, according to WordHippo.com. It also means undaunted and unshaken.

Willy is a nickname for the name William, which comes from the Germanic word wil, meaning will or desire plus the word helm, meaning helmet or protection, according to BabyNames.com.

M Go Biff!