The University of Michigan Crew Team (UMRT) began rowing on the Huron River in the fall of 1976. At the time, the team owned three boats with only one boat being rowable. The team structure was unorganized in the first year, as there was no coach, and practices were informally held whenever a group had designated to row. Roughly twelve persons rowed for Michigan during this time.

      UMRT began to take on more structure in 1977 with the addition of a head coach. Don Dossett volunteered his services for that position. The team acquired several more boats during this time which were stored outside on racks. In 1979, some of the equipment was damaged by a wind storm, which set the club back tremendously. By 1980, the size of the team had grown to 50 men and women athletes.

      From 1980 to 1983, several experienced coaches added more structure to the team as well as leadership, although they were still unpaid volunteers. The basic governing structure involving the student officers was formed and the team was fortunate to have had many dynamic officers during this time. The team continued to grow and become more organized. Newer used equipment was acquired but was still stored on outside racks. The Michigan Rowing Association (MRA) was formed in 1982 to aid in fundraising to build a boathouse for the team.

      In 1983, the team hired Amy Luchsinger, their first full-time paid head coach. This was a major step in the team's history toward increasing loyalty and dependability in their coaching staff with the ultimate goal being the reduction in the turnover rate of their coaches. The boathouse was built in 1985 with the help of MRA and much fund-raising by the UMRT student-athletes. The site of the boathouse was initially planned to be near Barton Dam but after those hopes were dashed by the Barton Hills community, the site chosen was on Argo Pond where the men's boathouse currently stands.

      After Amy Luchsinger stepped down from her position in 1985, the two years that followed was a struggling period of the team's history. The reasons were due to lack of continuity in leadership in addition to poor judgment in the hiring of the head coaches. There were two head coaches hired for one year and fired after their first year from 1985 to 1987. On a returning from Philadelphia in 1985, all of the team's equipment burned on the trailer. On the bright side, the replacement equipment was better than the older destroyed equipment. On the down side, however, the team was left $10,000 in debt due to other areas of mismanagement.

      Tom Welch coached from 1987 to 1990 which allowed for consistency in the leadership of the team, although not many persons agreed with the leadership principles displayed by him. This led to much unrest and discontent by many of the team members. From 1990 to 1992-93, the team was led under the direction of one head coach - Will Brewster. The equipment continued to improve with the addition of some newer eights. The club gained stability during this time mainly through improved fund-raising efforts by the team's administration. Brewster was replaced as head coach in 1993, and in 1993-94 there were four head coaches.

      Beginning in 1993 Gregg Hartsuff was hired as head coach along with Mark Rothstein - the women's head coach. Friends of Michigan Crew, an alumni support organization for UMRT, was founded in 1993 by the head coaches. Higher quality equipment began to be acquired and fundraising became a very streamlined successful business with the diligent work of the student officers. The women's team became a varsity-funded sport in 1996 and the women now row separate from the men on Belleville Lake in Belleville. The team has continued to grow with the men's team numbering approximately 70 athletes and the women's team totaling 50.

      The 1990s and early 2000s have been very successful for both teams. Since becoming a varsity team, the women received 5th place finishes at the NCAA Championships every year until 2001 when they were runners-up. In 2002, the women finished 8th.

      The men have also improved on the national scene, where they finished 12th in 1999, 9th in 2000 and 11th in 2001. In 2002, the men reached a new level by finishing 6th, behind only Wisconsin, Princeton, California, Cornell and Washington. In addition, the 2002 freshman 8 became the first Michigan boat to ever win an IRA medal, finishing second. The team has now begun to reach a level where they are respected around the country.

      Want to learn more about Michigan Crew? Check out "Michigan Crew: The First 20 Years" in our product catalog.