 At age 26, he was a starter at tackle for the 1925 Michigan Wolverines football team that outscored its opponents by a combined score of 227 to 3 on the season.While attending Michigan, Babcock studied education and was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and of the Sphinx and Michigamua.In February 1926, the Municipal University of Akron, now known as the University of Akron, announced that it had chosen Babcock as its new football and track coach.