50 Fun Facts About Michigan Football

What is the nickname of Michigan Stadium?

It opened in 1927 with 72,000 seats and now holds 107,601, the largest stadium in the Western Hemisphere.

What are Michigan's official colours?

The Wolverines have worn them since the 1860s, decades before the football team played its first game.

In what year did Michigan play its first intercollegiate football game?

The opponent on 30 May 1879 was Racine College; Michigan joined the Big Ten at its founding in 1896.

How many national championships does Michigan claim?

Six of them came under Fielding Yost; the most recent was the 15-0 season in 2023.

Michigan holds which all-time distinction in college football?

The Wolverines have been piling up victories since 1879, which is why every rival wants to knock them off the top of the list.

How many Michigan players have won the Heisman Trophy?

Tom Harmon (1940), Desmond Howard (1991) and Charles Woodson (1997).

Which coach introduced the winged helmet at Michigan in 1938?

It debuted against Michigan State that year; Crisler went 116-32-9 and won the 1947 national title.

Michigan won the first ever Rose Bowl in 1902 by what score?

The Point-a-Minute Wolverines were so dominant that Stanford asked to stop the game early.

How long did Fielding Yost's famous unbeaten streak run after he arrived in 1901?

It ended in the 1905 season finale; his first five teams outscored opponents 2,821 to 42.

What nickname did Fielding Yost earn from constantly urging his players on?

He coached Michigan for 25 seasons at an .833 clip and later, as athletic director, built the stadium and the field house that bears his name.

By what combined score did Yost's Point-a-Minute teams outscore opponents from 1901 to 1905?

The record over those five seasons was 55-1-1, with the lone loss coming to Chicago in 1905.

Who composed Michigan's fight song The Victors?

He was a student who wrote it in 1898 on the train home after a 12-11 win at Chicago that clinched the conference title.

A win over which university inspired the writing of The Victors in 1898?

John Philip Sousa later said only a master of counterpoint could have conceived its harmony.

How many fans attended the record Michigan vs Notre Dame game at Michigan Stadium in 2013?

It remains the largest crowd for a college football game; the 2010 Big Chill hockey game there drew 104,173.

How much did Michigan Stadium cost to build in 1927?

Fielding Yost persuaded the regents to build it and originally wanted room for 140,000 people.

What was Michigan Stadium's capacity when it opened in 1927?

The first game there was against Ohio Wesleyan on 1 October 1927; the official figure today is 107,601.

Which Michigan halfback known as 'Old 98' won the 1940 Heisman Trophy?

He was later shot down twice as a WWII pilot, played for the LA Rams and fathered NCIS actor Mark Harmon.

Which future US president played centre on Michigan's undefeated 1932 and 1933 national title teams?

His teammates voted him MVP in 1934, and he turned down offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.

What is Bo Schembechler's real first name?

He came to Ann Arbor from Miami of Ohio in 1969 and went 194-48-5 over 21 seasons.

Which sign did Bo Schembechler famously hang in the Michigan locker room?

Many of his 1969 squad quit under his brutal first winter workouts; those who stayed beat No. 1 Ohio State that November.

How many Big Ten titles did Bo Schembechler's Michigan teams win or share?

He never won a national championship, but his teams finished ranked in all but one of his 21 seasons.

After retiring from coaching in 1989, Bo Schembechler became president of which baseball team?

He held the job from 1990 to 1992 and is remembered there mostly for firing broadcaster Ernie Harwell.

What was the score when Bo Schembechler's first Michigan team upset No. 1 Ohio State in 1969?

The upset launched the Ten Year War between Bo and Woody Hayes, which Schembechler edged 5-4-1.

What was Bo Schembechler's head-to-head record against Woody Hayes during the Ten Year War?

From 1969 to 1978 either Michigan or Ohio State won at least a share of the Big Ten title every single season.

Woody Hayes was fired after punching an opposing player at the end of which season?

It happened in the Gator Bowl against Clemson; the victim, Charlie Bauman, had just intercepted an Ohio State pass. The Ten Year War ended with the punch.

Michigan and Ohio State first met on the football field in which year?

Michigan won 34-0; the game has closed the regular season for both schools since 1935.

How many punts did Michigan and Ohio State combine for in the 1950 'Snow Bowl'?

Michigan won 9-3 in howling snow without completing a single forward pass.

In 2000, which network ranked Michigan-Ohio State as the greatest North American sports rivalry ever?

Woody Hayes famously refused to buy a drop of gasoline in the state of Michigan.

Michigan's 42-27 win over Ohio State in 2021 snapped a losing streak of how many games in the rivalry?

It was Jim Harbaugh's first win over the Buckeyes and started a run of three straight Big Ten titles.

Michigan plays Minnesota each year for which trophy?

Michigan led the series 78-25-3 through 2024, though it once had to win the thing back after leaving it in Minneapolis in 1903.

How much did Michigan's student manager pay in 1903 for the water jug that became a rivalry trophy?

Thomas Roberts bought the five-gallon jug in Dinkytown; Michigan left it behind after a 6-6 tie and Minnesota's custodian Oscar Munson kept it.

Which Michigan governor introduced the Paul Bunyan Trophy for the Michigan-Michigan State game in 1953?

It marked Michigan State's first year in the Big Ten; the four-foot wooden lumberjack sits on a five-foot base.

What did Desmond Howard say he 'chickened out' of before settling on his famous 1991 Heisman pose?

The pose came against the Buckeyes; Michigan retired his No. 21 and made him the first 'Michigan Football Legend'.

Desmond Howard is the only player to win Super Bowl MVP purely for what?

His 99-yard kickoff return sealed Super Bowl XXXI for the Green Bay Packers.

Charles Woodson beat which quarterback to the 1997 Heisman Trophy?

He was the first primarily defensive player ever to win it, finishing 282 points ahead of the Tennessee star.

Which NFL team drafted Charles Woodson fourth overall in 1998?

He later won Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl XLV with Green Bay and entered the Hall of Fame in 2021.

How many points per game did Michigan's 1997 national championship defence allow?

The Wolverines went unbeaten, finished No. 1 in the AP poll and won the Rose Bowl over Washington State.

Which pick in the 2000 NFL Draft was Michigan quarterback Tom Brady?

He had just thrown for 369 yards and four touchdowns to beat Alabama in overtime in the 2000 Orange Bowl.

Which team beat Michigan in the 2007 opener, the first Division I-AA win over a ranked team?

The Mountaineers blocked a last-second field goal to win 34-32 at the Big House.

Bo Schembechler died the day before which Michigan-Ohio State game?

No. 1 Ohio State beat No. 2 Michigan 42-39 the next day in the first 1-versus-2 meeting in the rivalry.

Before coaching Michigan, Jim Harbaugh played quarterback for the Wolverines in which years?

He returned as head coach in 2015 and won three straight Big Ten titles from 2021 to 2023.

Whom did Michigan beat in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game to cap the 2023 season?

The 34-13 win finished a 15-0 season, the first in Big Ten history, and the programme's first title since 1997.

Michigan's 2023 Rose Bowl semifinal win over Alabama finished by what score?

J.J. McCarthy's Wolverines stopped Alabama on fourth down in overtime to reach the title game.

How many rushing touchdowns did Blake Corum score during Michigan's 2023 championship season?

That led the FBS; Michigan blanked Iowa 26-0 in the Big Ten title game along the way.

Who served as Michigan's acting head coach during Jim Harbaugh's 2023 suspensions?

Harbaugh sat out two separate three-game bans, one for COVID-era recruiting violations and one over the sign-stealing scandal.

How many games was Jim Harbaugh suspended for over the 2023 sign-stealing allegations?

It was his second three-game suspension of the season, but Michigan still went 15-0.

Which coach's first season, 1948, produced an undefeated national champion a year after the winged-helmet coach's title?

The 9-0 season came in his first year, a rare back-to-back title for a programme changing coaches.

Which conference did Michigan join at its inception in 1896?

It was then called the Western Conference, and Michigan actually left it from 1907 to 1917 before returning.

From which school was Rich Rodriguez, his alma mater, lured to replace Lloyd Carr in 2008?

Rodriguez tore out Carr's pro-style offence for the spread, and expected starting quarterback Ryan Mallett left the programme in the upheaval.

Which head coach, hired in January 2024, was the first African American to lead the Michigan programme?

He was the 21st head coach in team history and beat Michigan State, Ohio State and Alabama in his first season.