 |
 |
| HOME |
Athletics at Michigan
If you are considering the University of Michigan for your academic and athletic collegiate home, you already know about the traditions of, and also the very high expectations for, athletic excellence here. Michigan athletic teams have claimed 52 national championships in 12 sports, beginning with football's 1901 national title. In 2005, Michigan softball captured the nation's attention by winning its first Women's College World Series, becoming the first school east of Mississippi to do so. Michigan has won 332 Big Ten Conference Titles, four of which are Michigan Rowing Big Ten Championships. The second-ranked Big Ten university has won a total of 226 Big Ten Titles. 332 to 226. If you're considering Michigan, you certainly can do the math! |
Here's a very important additional thing to know: at the University of Michigan, Michigan Rowing is an Olympic Sport. At lots of other universities around the country, women's rowing is a "non-revenue sport." At those universities, there are the revenue sports (for example, football and basketball), and then there are the non-revenue sports. But not at Michigan. Michigan's Athletic Director, William C. Martin, has served as the president of the United States Olympic Committee, after having served on its board of directors for eight years. Martin currently is on the board of directors for the U.S. Olympic Foundation. In April 2005, Martin received the United States Olympic Committee General Douglas MacArthur Award, the organization's highest award, honoring his leadership as acting president of the USOC in 2003-2004. Martin gets Olympic Sports, and he appreciates them. So when we say that Michigan Rowing is an Olympic Sport, it means that Michigan Rowing is supported as a valued member of Michigan's athletic community. Michigan Rowing is valued by the Athletic Department's administrators, its doctors, its trainers, its strength coaches, its academic counselors and tutors, its sports psychologists, its nutritionist, its development officers, its staff, and its fans. It's not unusual for Bill Martin to stop by to chat with Michigan coaches and rowers, or to meet with Michigan rowing recruits when they are on campus. Michigan Rowing matters at Michigan, and that matters for Michigan Rowing. |
 Bill Martin, Michigan's Athletic Director, speaks during a boat dedication ceremony at the Michigan Boathouse. |
"[Here at Michigan] Olympians coach me. Nobel Prize winners teach me. I eat lunch with All-Americans. In the athletic training room, I sit next to Big Ten champions. I meet with prize-winning authors during their office hours. I take class notes next to American record-holders. I walk to class with members of national championship teams. I open doors once opened by Oscar-winning actors, former Presidents and astronauts . . . it's all in the day of a Michigan student-athlete." -- Shelley Johnson, former Michigan Field Hockey Player |
