Michigan Football

Few programs in the NCAA can claim as prosperous and tradition-rich a history as that of Michigan football. The Wolverines have played football for well over 100 season, playing their first games back in 1879 and winning their first Bowl Game in 1901. In fact, they have won more than 800 games, winning in roughly 75-percent of the 1,100-plus contests in which they have played. They can also lay claim to over 40 conference championships, more than 35 Bowl Game berths and 11 National Championships to date. Not to mention the fact that Michigan Stadium, better known to many as "The Big House," is one of the toughest places to play in all of college football. Or that the university also lays claim to one of the best fight songs on the planet, "The Victors". Or that they play in what is undoubtedly the single biggest rivalry game of them all, Michigan vs. Ohio State. In every way, the Wolverines football program has proven that they are something special.

Great Michigan Football Coaches

Likewise, Michigan football has featured some of the greatest head coaches in NCAA history. Of course, who could forget the first great coach in school history, the legendary Fielding Yost. Yost coached the team for 25 seasons, from 1901 to 1923 and then again in 1925 and 1926, and during his time on the sidelines he went 165-29-10 overall and 42-10-2 in the Big Ten. Yost was also the first Michigan coach to lead the team to a National Championship, and in fact, he did so on half a dozen occasions. He also won 10 conference titles, second only to another Michigan coaching great, Bo Schembechler. Schembechler was on the Wolverines sidelines from 1969 through 1989, winning 13 conference championships and taking the club to 17 Bowl Games. Ironically enough, though, while five different coaches have won a national title while at Michigan, Bo isn't one of them. In addition to Yost, Harry Kipke, Fritz Crisler, Bennie Oosterbaan and current coach Lloyd Carr have all led the Wolverines to a No. 1 ranking at season's end.