It has been alleged that the word "Hip" stems from a medieval Latin acronym, "Hierosylma Est Perdita", meaning "Jerusalem is lost", a term that gained notoriety in the Hep hep riots.

Jim Zorn, the rookie head coach of the Washington Redskins, unknowingly reintroduced the Hip Hip Hooray! cheer to the team's post-game tradition following an upset win in Dallas over the Dallas Cowboys on September 28, 2008. Zorn led the team in that cheer in the locker room following the victory, which resulted in the team unexpectedly beginning the season with a 3-1 record.

While Zorn meant to emulate something that Chuck Knox, Zorn's former head coach with the Seattle Seahawks, had done with that team in the late 1970's, Redskins fans immediately recognized the cheer as one that George Allen had made famous with the Redskins before, while coaching the Over-the-Hill Gang in the early 1970's. The Redskins players led by Antwaan Randle El repeated the cheer at Zorn's invitation the following week after another win on the road at Philadelphia over the Eagles.

Mike Riley, coach of the Oregon State Beavers football team, is also a consistent user of the Hip Hip Hooray cheer. For several years Riley and his players always bust into a series of Hip Hip Hoorays in the locker room after each win.