Lighting of the M

One of the university's oldest traditions originated in the year 1936 when the mining school students began work on the world’s largest “M" by placing rocks in a pattern on the southwest slope of the mound, located a few miles east of the city. Completed the following year, the "M" measures 214 x 241 feet and consists of some 400 tons of whitewashed stone. The lighting of the "M" is now a tradition at UW-Platteville and is the featured ceremony each fall during Homecoming weekend.  After being lit, the "M" is visible from parts of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin.