University of Michigan Wolverines Football at Michigan Stadium
The Wolverines have one of the most successful programs in college sports and the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor is an idyllic location to showcase their talents. Opened in 1927, Michigan Stadium seats 107,601, making it the largest venue in college football and the second-largest stadium by capacity in the world — plenty of room to accommodate all their loyal fans. Those who visit "The Big House" get an experience that's second to none in college sports, especially after a $226 million renovation that took place between 2007 and 2010. The Wolverines are coached by Jim Harbaugh, who as a quarterback led Michigan to a Fiesta Bowl victory and a No. 2 ranking at the end of the 1985 season. Harbaugh has coached his alma mater since 2015 after leading the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance two years earlier.
Michigan Wolverines Football History
The University of Michigan Wolverines first took to the field in 1879, and have been one of the nation's most elite teams ever since. Proud claimants of 11 national championships, the most recent in 1997, the team has been home to three Heisman Trophy winners: Tom Harmon in 1940, Desmond Howard in 1991 and Charles Woodson in 1997. Other notable alumni include quarterback Tom Brady, who led the Wolverines to an Orange Bowl victory in 2000, and future United States President Gerald Ford, who played center, linebacker and long snapper on the team from 1932 to 1934.
The Michigan Wolverines have plenty of serious rivalries, from in-state adversaries Michigan State to their conference foes at University of Minnesota to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. But the most bitter conflict (in perhaps all of sports) stems from Michigan's rivalry with the Ohio State Buckeyes. The notorious "Ten Year War" raged between Michigan coach Bo Schembechler and Ohio State coach Woody Hayes from 1969 to 1978, and was reignited in the modern era as Ohio State and Michigan remain perennial contenders in the Big Ten East.
