| Michigan Wolverines The decision to favor the Big 10 brand over accuracy is understandable. Founded in 1896, the Big 10 is the oldest Division I college athletic conference in the United States. The conference as a whole provides nearly $100,000,000 annually in direct financial aid to over eight thousand male and female student-athletes. In addition to the conference’s athletic prowess, it also has a well deserved reputation for high academic standards. In the 1985 book Public Ivies, nine of the Big 10’s 10 public institutions (Northwestern is the only private university in the conference) were deemed to “provide an Ivy League collegiate experience at a public school price.” The Michigan Wolverines finished the 2007-08 season in tenth place in the Big Ten, saved from the cellar only by Evansville’s Northwestern Wildcats, who finished the 2007-08 regular season with 1 win against 13 loses in intra-conference play. The Wolverines were marginally better, going 5-13 in conference play and 10-22 overall. Recent Michigan Wolverines history was enlivened by the exposure of deep-seated rot in the school’s recruitment practices. The case began when the investigation of an automobile rollover accident during a 1996 Michigan Wolverines recruiting trip. IRS and FBI and United States Department of Justice investigations eventually uncovered a scheme by which a team booster laundered money from an illegal gambling operation. The incident was described as one of the worst violations of NCAA bylaws in history by the NCAA infractions committee chairman. The cost of the punishment was substantial. The 2002–03 team was ineligible for the post season; the 1997 NIT Championship and 1998 Big Ten Tournament championships were rescinded as was recognition of the Wolverines’ 1992 and 1993 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament Final Four appearance. Head coach Steve Fisher was fired as Michigan head coach as a result of the scandal. With the punishments taken into account the Michigan Wolverines are credited with 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, 4 Final Four appearances, 3 appearances in the Championship Game and 1 NCAA Championship; 1989. |