Michigan began competing in intercollegiate football in 1879, and its program is credited with popularizing the game at the collegiate level west of the Appalachians[citation needed]. In 1887 its team introduced the game to students at Notre Dame who began their own storied football tradition and became one of the Wolverines' fiercest rivals. Since 1935, Michigan has almost always concluded its regular season schedule with a game against Ohio State. The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is widely regarded among the greatest rivalries in American sports.
In addition, from 1883 to 1901, Michigan often played its "big game" of the season at the field of the Detroit Athletic Club to accommodate more spectators. [1]
Regents Field was renamed Ferry Field in 1902. A new stadium was built in 1906 that was also named Ferry Field.[2]
Championships
National championships
Michigan claims national championships in eleven seasons, consistent with the NCAA[3]:
Most wins (869) and highest winning percentage (.745) in NCAA Division I-A football history
The most conference championships of any college football program in any conference (42)
The most winning seasons (110)
The most undefeated seasons in Division 1-A football (25)
One of only three schools with a winning record against every Division 1-A conference, including independent schools such as Notre Dame.
The 1901 Michigan Wolverines football team is the only undefeated, untied, and unscored-upon football team to also win the Rose Bowl without being scored upon.
Scoring and schedule
The largest scoring delta (points for minus points against) in college football history
One of the highest all-time strength of schedule rating in college football[4]
Attendance and television
The highest NCAA home attendance every year since 1974, except for 1997
The largest crowd to ever attend an NCAA football game: 112,118 on November 22, 2003, at Michigan Stadium vs. Ohio State
The longest current streak of over 100,000 in attendance at home (208 games)
The most televised school in college football history (382 televised games)
Current streaks
The longest current streak of non-losing seasons (40 seasons; 1968-present)
The longest current streak of bowl game appearances (33 seasons; 1975-present)
The longest current streak of games in Division 1-A since last being shut out (287 games; last time on October 20, 1984, at Iowa)
Honored pageantry
The number one sports rivalry: Michigan-Ohio State, according to ESPN's "10 Greatest Sports Rivalries"[5]
The best helmet in football, according to ESPN's "End of Century" Special
The best uniform in sports, according to ESPN2's 64 Team Bracket Results[6]
The Victors is of the few fight songs in the Hall of Fame
Important games
Bowl games
Michigan has been invited to play in 39 bowl games in its history, compiling a record of 19-20 in those games.
Note: From 1918-1945, the Big Ten did not allow its teams to participate in bowls. From 1946-1974, only the conference champion was allowed to attend a bowl (the Rose Bowl), and no team could go two years in a row.
Michigan plays Minnesota for the Little Brown Jug. Michigan's record in games played for the Jug, which date to 1909, is 65-22-3. The Wolverines currently hold the trophy having won the 2007 contest.
Michigan competes against Michigan State for the Paul Bunyan Trophy, which was introduced in 1953. Michigan's record in games played for the trophy is 34-19-2. The Wolverines have won the last six meetings.
Jim Cnockaert (2003). Stadium Stories: Michigan Wolverines: Colorful Tales of the Maize and Blue. Globe Pequot. ISBN 0-7627-2784-5.
Kevin Allen, Art Regner, Nate Brown, and Bo Schembechler (2005). What it Means to Be a Wolverine: Michigan's Greatest Players, Talk about Michigan Football. Triumph Books. ISBN 1-57243-661-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
