To begin with, there's no better team in the Big Ten Conference than the Michigan Wolverines, one of the league's original members and the defending national champions.
“Those who have the courage to stay the course even in difficult times will be the winners in the end.”
– Bo Schembechler, Michigan State Coach 1969-1989
The University of Michigan was conceived in 1817 when Michigan Territory Governor Lewis Cass and several associate justices enacted an act to establish the University of Michigan. The initial product was something like a high school, leading to the territory/state's free public elementary education system, but in 1837, with his donation of 40 acres of land in Ann Arbor, he created what would later become the University of Michigan. has been sealed.
The first classes were held in 1841. The first graduation ceremony for 11 men took place in 1845. The School of Medicine he founded in 1848, which enabled him to establish the United States' first university-owned hospital in the United States in 1869.
Enrollment in 1865 was about 1,200. That number would eventually increase to more than 50,000 in modern times.
Michigan State's role as a prominent research university began in 1920 with the reorganization of the College of Engineering. Michigan scholars have produced more than 263,000 research findings, including clinical studies, traffic light optimization, and the effects of nature on health and well-being.
U of M is also known for its work with the U.S. Navy. During World War II, one of the universities at Michigan State where he participated in the V-12 Naval War College Training Program, contributed to numerous weapons development advances.
Currently, the Ann Arbor campus is divided into four major areas and includes more than 500 major buildings. In the latest US News and World Report rankings, the University of Michigan ranks 21st among national universities and 3rd among public universities.
The only program in University of Michigan history to win more than 1,000 games (1,004 wins), the University of Michigan's first win came in its first game against Racine College in 1879 at Chicago's White Stocking Park. Michigan players have been known over the years to stop by other campuses and introduce students to the game. In 1887, one of his stops was in South Bend, Indiana, which marked the beginning of the legendary Michigan vs. Notre Dame rivalry.
The Wolverines were so named after a border conflict with Ohio in the early 1800s known as the “Toledo War,” which led to Michiganders being called “Wolverines,” and the Intercollegiate Faculty Representatives in 1896. We were in a conference, the Western Conference. The beginning of what would become the Big Ten Conference.
The University of Michigan lost its first Western Conference title to the football powerhouse Chicago Maroons in its early years, but won in 1898 with “The Victors,” which eventually became the school's fight song. gave inspiration to.
Led by coach Fielding Yost, UM became dominant early in the century, winning national titles from 1901 to 1904. Yost led his team to national championships in 1918 and again in 1923, but in 25 seasons he lost more than two games only three times.
Yost became the school's athletic director in 1921 and retired from football altogether in 1926. He oversaw the construction of Michigan Stadium. Its original capacity was 72,000 people, but “The Big House” has since grown into the 100,000-plus seat cathedral we know today.
Despite numerous national championships in the 1930s and 1940s, Michigan's role in the national conversation declined over the decades, at least compared to its earlier days. . The University of Michigan struggled in the 1950s and 1960s until Bo Schembechler took over in 1969. Schembechler never won a national championship, but with a record of 234-65-8, he was the University of Michigan's all-time wins leader and also held the winning record against Ohio. Condition (11-9).
All this time, the University of Michigan continued to win conference championships. Under new leadership in the 1990s, the Wolverines won three straight Big Ten titles, including the 1991 season when Desmond Howard won the school's second Heisman Trophy. From 1990 to 1999, Michigan never lost more than one league game in a season, including an undefeated season in 1997 when the Wolverines ultimately shared the national title with Nebraska.
Since the 1997 national championship year, the Wolverines have had five head coaches. Jim Harbaugh, who was the starting quarterback under coach Schembechler in the 1980s, finally won another national championship with a trip to the College Football Playoff in 2023. The next era of Michigan State football begins this fall under Sherrone Moore.
National Championships: 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1918, 1923, 1932, 1933, 1947, 1948, 1997, 2023
Conference title: 45
Heisman Trophy winners: Tom Harmon (1940), Desmond Howard (1991), Charles Woodson (1997)
Oregon State plans to join the Big Ten Conference in 2024. For information about the league as a whole and information about other programs, check out Ducks Digest.
