The reigning College Football Playoff national champions hail from a school with one of the most decorated sports histories in the country.
Documentaries, books and myriad other forms of media have chronicled in detail the University of Michigan’s success across multiple sports, and its alumni network includes a laundry list of famous people on and off the playing field. With a massive endowment, extensive athletic investment and the biggest sports venue in the United States, the Wolverines are among the crown jewels of the Big Ten Conference.
As the Oregon Ducks prepare for a move to the Big Ten in 2024, The Oregonian/OregonLive is taking a look at all of their newest conference rivals. While Ducks fans might be deeply familiar with fellow Pac-12 departees Washington, USC and UCLA, they have 14 new teams to get to know this year.
Next up is the Michigan Wolverines.
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Nickname: Wolverines
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
School founded: 1817
Joined Big Ten: 1896, independent from 1907-1917, rejoined in 1917
Type: Public
Enrollment: 51,225
Endowment: $17.9 billion
Athletic department spending (2021-22): $193.6 million
Athletic department revenue (2021-22): $210.7 million
Football spending (2021-22): $52.4 million
Football revenue (2021-22): $131.4 million
Football stadium: Michigan Stadium (The Big House)
Capacity: 107,601
Varsity sports: 29 (14 men’s, 15 women’s)
Mascot: None
Fight song: “The Victors”
Notable alumni: Madonna, Tom Brady, Gerald Ford, Sanjay Gupta, James Earl Jones, Larry Page, Michael Phelps, Gilda Radner
Famous coaches: Jim Harbaugh (football), Steve Fisher (men’s basketball), Vic Heyliger (men’s ice hockey)
Biggest rivals: Ohio State, Michigan State
Essential movie: The Five-Year Engagement (2012) — Filmed primarily in Ann Arbor
Team national titles: Football (12), men’s basketball (1), baseball (2), softball (1), men’s golf (2), men’s gymnastics (6), women’s gymnastics (1), men’s ice hockey (9), men’s swimming (12), men’s tennis (1), men’s track and field (1), women’s field hockey (1)
Did you know? In a deal with the Detroit Zoo, the University of Michigan had two live wolverines as mascots during the 1927 football season. Biff and Bennie were paraded around the stadium, but it lasted just one season as the animals became too large and “ferocious” for players to continue handling them. Biff was even reported to have chewed through a bar on his cage. Michigan has not had a mascot — be it a live animal or person inside a costume — in the nearly 100 years since Biff and Bennie were retired.
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