More Big 10 Football at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

I can’t write about one pillar of Big 10 Football without writing about its rival.

Last week I wrote about Columbus, Ohio’s campus of Ohio State University, tremendously famous for its impressive football team. As luck would have it, its biggest sports rival is just a three hour drive due north in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Ann Arbor hosts the Wolverines, the college football team of The University of Michigan, and a major rival in the Big Ten Conference.

I had visted University of Mchigan many years ago, and this past summer, I returned to Ann Arbor to visit a friend who lives there and had a great time walking around the stadium – and passing by the impressive football stadium – once again.

The campus and its college town are picturesque. I had last been in autumn, when the foliage set the campus aglow in yellows, oranges and reds. On this visit, it was the height of summer and hot.

University of Michigan is a highly competitive public university, founded in 1817, although for the first twenty years of its existence, it was located in Detroit. Today it plays host to 46,000 students.

The college’s Michigan Stadium is the largest football stadium in the world, seating an impressive 107,601 fans. Locally, it’s known as “The Big House”.

A former US president once played in this stadium. 38th President Gerald Ford played as center and linebacker during his four years as a Wolverine. During his time on the University of Michigan football team, he was considered a star player and helped earn the team national titles in 1932 and 1933.

On my visit, we also took a walk through the school’s fairly new sports campus, separated from the main campus, and with plenty of facilities for athletes.

The college town is pleasant, with lots of shops, restaurants and bars, and some nice park areas to take walks.

Even if it had been many years, I really enjoyed having the chance to visit pretty Anna Arbor and its University of Michigan during my midwest tour.

Next time, I need to make it back to a football game …