DOWAGIAC — Jon Leazenby’s first-grade students are used to feeling blue — maize and blue, that is.

With a massive photograph of “The Big House” hanging on the back wall, right above a green patch of carpeting decorated to resemble a football field with the school’s signature “M” logo located in the center, the Patrick Hamilton Elementary educator is doing little to hide the fact that his classroom is a part of Wolverine nation.

Thanks to his passion, the University of Michigan football bug that Leazenby caught when he was around his students’ age has bitten many of them as well, as they happily join their “head coach” in singing “The Victors” whenever he plays it for them.

Leazenby and his students are hoping that their love for the college team can catch the attention of the current Wolverine-in-Chief, Jim Harbaugh.

Earlier this month, following a suggestion from his then-student teacher, Chris Ferier, Leazenby decided to record a video of the class while they happily clapped and danced to one of the school’s fight songs. The teacher attached the video to a post on the social media website Twitter, which he directed toward Harbaugh, head coach of the Michigan football team.

Leazenby said that he has made it his mission to get Harbaugh to reply, be it sending a letter or stopping by Patrick Hamilton to speak to the children.

“If [Harbaugh] could find some time to drop by, that would mean the world to the kids,” Leazenby said.

Leazenby, a native of Niles, has been a fan of the Michigan Wolverines since he was 6 years old, he said. He was hooked the moment he saw one of the team’s dark blue helmets, with the trademark yellow stripe pattern running across the top.

“It was love at first sight,” he said.

From then on, he would try and catch every Wolverine game he could.

He fell in love with the game of football, too, and would organize games in his backyard with other kids in his neighborhood. He later went on to play college ball for one year while attending Albion College, where he graduated in 2005.

However, it was not until 2006, a year after he started his teaching career with Dowagiac Union Schools, that Leazenby finally made the sacred pilgrimage to the legendary Michigan Stadium.

“I’ll admit, I teared up when they started playing the fight song,” he said about the experience.

Since then, Leazenby has attended at least one game every season at “The Big House,” he said. His most recent visit was in September, when he cheered on the Wolverines’ as they defeated the Air Force Falcons. Joining him was one of his students, who he met at the stadium, Leazenby said.

Leazenby’s love for Michigan and football goes beyond just decorations in his classroom. He infuses his passion for the sport into his lessons as well, including teaching the children lyrics to different college fight songs to improve their memorization and reading skills, and organizing football-themed games and activities to build their math skills, he said.

As he has yet to hear back from Harbaugh or anyone else with the school, Leazenby said he plans on writing a letter to the University of Michigan athletic department to see if they can arrange something special for his students and the entire community.

“Dowagiac is a football-loving community,” Leazenby said. “To have someone of [Harbaugh’s] profile come and visit us would a highlight for the kids. Heck, it would be a highlight for me, too.”