The ending lyrics of the song are accompanied by the singers waving their caps held in their right hands.
The "Varsity Toast" was composed in 1898 by Henry Dyke Sleeper, an instructor for the University’s School of Music.
The work was adapted from the Latin hymn Domine Salvam Fac written by Charles Gounod.
The image stuck with Raymond Dvorak, then assistant band director for the University of Illinois.
That same year, following a speech by the University’s president, Glenn Frank, Dvorak instructed the students to watch for his cue to wave their hands as they sang the ending lyrics to "Varsity".