The University of Michigan (UMich, U-M, or Michigan) is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1817 and is the oldest higher education institution in the state. It is also one of the earliest research universities in the United States and a founding member of the Association of American Universities.
The university has the largest student population in Michigan, with more than 53,000 students enrolled. This includes over 35,000 undergraduate students and 18,000 graduate students. It is classified as an "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" by the Carnegie Classification. The university includes 19 schools and colleges that offer more than 280 degree programs. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2021, it ranked third in the United States for research spending, according to the National Science Foundation.
The campus covers 3,177 acres (12.86 km²). It includes Michigan Stadium, the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, and it is ranked third globally. The university’s athletic teams, which include 13 men’s teams and 14 women’s teams that compete in college sports, are called the Wolverines. They compete in NCAA Division I (FBS) as part of the Big Ten Conference. Between 1900 and 2022, athletes from the university won a total of 185 medals at the Olympic Games, including 86 gold medals.
History
In 1703, a proposal to create a school in Michigan was made during the colonial period of New France. Just two years after Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit was built in 1701, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, a French explorer and later governor of Louisiana, wrote to King Louis XIV’s minister, Louis Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain, from the settlement on August 31, 1703. He suggested building a school in the newly formed parish of Sainte-Anne-de-Détroit to teach Indigenous and French children about religion and the French language. It is unclear if the school was ever built, as no records mention it. Jesuit leaders in Quebec likely opposed the idea because of disagreements with Cadillac and concerns about competition with their own schools. Parish records from 1755 mention Jean Baptiste Rocoux as "Director of Christian Schools," a title possibly inspired by Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. He taught students either at his home on St. Jacques Street or in a building connected to Ste. Anne’s Church. Some sources refer to a school at the fort that trained young men for religious work, but it was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1805. A French subscription school existed near the fort in 1775, and a 1780 account book includes tuition records dating back to 1760.
The French colony was handed over to Britain in 1762 after the French and Indian War. French Canadians continued to run Christian schools, which became bilingual, but the British, who saw the area mainly as a trading post, did little to support education, causing little progress during their rule from 1763 to 1796.
After the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the area came under American control in 1796. Territorial judges were supposed to define the legal status of Christian schools under the new government. The American right to education in Michigan was based on Section 1, Article XI of the Northwest Ordinance. Starting in 1806, Gabriel Richard, a parish minister who helped plan Detroit after the 1805 fire, asked for land to create a "higher learning institution" and suggested using a lottery to fund the schools he led. In 1817, during the postwar period after the War of 1812, the Territorial government, influenced by Richard and Judge Augustus B. Woodward, and supported by President Thomas Jefferson, passed a law to create the "Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania" within the Territory of Michigan. The law combined existing schools into one institution. Rev. John Monteith, a Presbyterian minister, became the first president, and Richard was vice president. The university’s leaders had authority over education in the territory. The law was signed by Acting Governor William Woodbridge, Judge Augustus B. Woodward, and Judge John Griffin.
The university was modeled after the Université imperial in France, established a decade earlier under Emperor Napoleon. The term "Catholepistemiad," a made-up word from Greek and Latin, means "School of Universal Knowledge." It included multiple schools and libraries under one administration, with the power to create more schools in the territory. The university focused only on higher education after the territory’s first public school law was passed in 1827, which required local governments to provide basic education.
The university may have started with private donations and land grants from the federal government. Shortly after its founding in 1817, it received $250 from the Freemason Zion Lodge of Detroit. Two-thirds of the funds came from the lodge and its members. Early supporters included Joseph Campau and his nephew John R. Williams. The first land grant for the university was given in 1826 as part of a law based on treaties signed at the Foot of the Rapids and Detroit.
The cornerstone of the University Building was laid on September 24, 1817, on Bates Street near the 1818 "Stone Church" of Ste. Anne Parish in Detroit. By 1818, a Lancasterian school, taught by Lemuel Shattuck, and a classical academy, taught by Hugh M. Dickey, were operating
Campus
The University of Michigan's campus in Ann Arbor has four main areas: the Central Campus, the North Campus, the North Medical Campus, and the Ross Athletic Campus. These areas include more than 500 major buildings, covering over 37.48 million square feet (860 acres; 3.482 km²). The Central and Athletic Campus areas are connected, while the North Campus is separated from them mainly by the Huron River. The North Medical Campus was built on Plymouth Road and includes university-owned buildings for outpatient care, diagnostics, and surgery.
The university has leased spaces in buildings across Ann Arbor, many used by organizations linked to the University of Michigan Health System. In addition to the golf course on Ross Athletic Campus, the university also operates a second golf course called Radrick Farms Golf Course on Geddes Road. The university owns a large office building called Wolverine Tower in southern Ann Arbor. The Inglis House, an off-campus mansion owned by the university since the 1950s, is used for social events, meetings, and hosting visitors. Another major off-campus facility is the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, located on the eastern edge of Ann Arbor.
The original Central Campus covered 40 acres, bordered by North University Avenue, South University Avenue, East University Avenue, and State Street. The master plan was created by Alexander Jackson Davis. Early buildings included four Greek Revival faculty homes built in 1840, as well as Mason Hall (1841–1950) and South College (1849–1950), which served as both classrooms and dormitories. Only one of the original faculty homes remains today, now renovated in the Italianate style to serve as the President's House. The Chemical Laboratory, built by Albert Jordan in 1856 and used until 1980, was the first instructional chemistry lab in the nation. After the Old Medical Building (1850–1914) and the Law Building (1863–1950) were completed, an open space called The Diag formed. Notable buildings on the original Central Campus included University Hall (1872–1950), designed by E. S. Jennison, and the Old Library (1881–1918), designed by Henry Van Brunt, who also designed Memorial Hall in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Today, the Central Campus looks very different from its 19th-century appearance because most of its original buildings were demolished and rebuilt in the early 20th century. The rebuilt structures were mainly designed by Albert Kahn, who was the university's supervising architect during that time. In 1909, Regent William L. Clements became chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee, leading to Kahn's influence on the university's architecture. Kahn's work on the West Engineering Hall (1910), Natural Science Building (1915), and General Library (1920) showed simple designs with little ornamentation. However, Kahn's Hill Auditorium (1913), funded by Regent Arthur Hill, featured detailed Sullivanesque decorations and excellent acoustics, which were rare at the time.
Starting in 1920, the university received more funding for construction due to President Burton's ability to convince the legislature to provide more money, supported by a strong economy. This allowed for grander buildings, such as Kahn's Italian Renaissance Clements Library (1923), Classical Greek Angell Hall (1924), and Art Deco Burton Memorial Tower (1936), which used unusual and costly materials. Kahn's final university project was the Ruthven Museums Building (1928), designed in the Renaissance style.
Other architects who contributed to the Central Campus include Spier & Rohns, who designed Newberry Hall (1888), Tappan Hall (1894), and the West Medical Building (1904); Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, who designed the Chemistry Building (1910) and East Engineering Building; and Perkins, Fellows and Hamilton, who designed University High School (1924). The Michigan Union (1919) and Michigan League (1929) were completed by alumni Irving Kane Pond and Allen Bartlit Pond and house student organizations. Alumni Memorial Hall, funded by alumni in memory of Civil War soldiers, was completed by Donaldson and Meier and became the University Museum of Art in 1946. Tony Rosenthal created the monumental cube Endover in 1968.
The area south of The Diag is mostly Gothic in style, differing from the classical designs of many of Kahn's buildings. The Martha Cook Building (1915), designed by York and Sawyer, Samuel Parsons, and George A. Fuller, was inspired by England's Knole House and Aston Hall. It was one of the university's early women's residences. York and Sawyer also designed the Law Quadrangle, which includes a flagstone courtyard by landscape architect Jacob Van Heiningan. The Lawyers' Club, part of the quadrangle, has a clubhouse, dining hall, and dormitory modeled after English clubs with an Elizabethan-style lounge and a dining hall inspired by the chapels of Eaton. The Law Library's main reading room features craftsmanship from the Rockefeller Church of New York. Hutchins Hall, designed by alumnus James Baird, is named after Harry Burns Hutchins, the fourth university president. Nearby buildings, such as the School of Education Building and Architecture and Design Building, adopted Gothic elements similar to the Law Quadrangle and Martha Cook Residence.
The Central Campus is home to the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Most graduate and professional schools, including the Law School, Ross School of Business, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and the School of Dentistry, are located here. Two main libraries, Hatcher Graduate Library and Shapiro Undergraduate Library, as well as the university's museums, are also on Central Campus.
The North Campus was built independently from the city on 800 acres of farmland purchased by the university in 1952. Architect Eero Saarinen created the early master plan for the North Campus and designed buildings like the Earl V. Moore School of Music Building. The university's largest residence hall, Bursley Hall, is on the North Campus. The North Campus Diag includes a bell tower called Lurie Tower, which has a grand carillon.
The North Campus houses the College of Engineering, the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, the Stamps School of Art & Design, the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and an annex of the School of Information. The Duderstadt Center on North Campus houses the Art, Architecture and Engineering Library and includes computer labs, video editing studios, electronic music studios, an audio studio, a video studio, multimedia workspaces, and a 3D virtual reality room. Other
Organization and administration
The University of Michigan is managed by the Board of Regents, which was created by the Organic Act of March 18, 1837. The Board has eight members who are elected every two years in state elections. They serve eight-year terms that overlap with other members' terms. Before the Office of President was created in 1850, the University of Michigan was directly managed by appointed regents. A group of professors took turns handling daily tasks. In 1850, the Constitution of the State of Michigan changed how the university was run. It created the Office of the President and changed the Board of Regents into an elected group. The state constitution gave the Board of Regents the power to appoint a non-voting presiding president to lead their meetings. This made the Board of Regents a constitutional corporation, independent of the state government, and made the University of Michigan the first public university in the United States organized this way. As of 2021–22, the Board of Regents is chaired by Jordan B. Acker (B.A. '06).
The Board of Regents gives its authority to the university president, who is the chief executive officer responsible for managing daily operations at the main campus in Ann Arbor. The president has authority over the branch campuses in Dearborn and Flint but does not manage them directly. Instead, two chancellors are appointed by the president to oversee each branch campus. All university presidents are appointed by the Board of Regents to serve five-year terms, at the board's discretion. There are no limits on how long a president can serve. The board can choose to end or extend a president's term.
The University of Michigan currently has no president. Domenico Grasso (PhD '87), a former chancellor of the Dearborn campus, is serving as the interim president. He was named to this role on May 8, 2025, after the previous president, Santa Ono, resigned. Grasso will lead the university during the search for a new president. Laurie McCauley has been the 17th and current provost of the university since May 2022. She was recommended by Santa Ono to serve through June 30, 2027.
The President's House, located at 815 South University Avenue on the Ann Arbor campus, is the official home and office of the University president. Built in 1840, the three-story Italianate-style building is the oldest surviving structure on the Ann Arbor campus and is part of the University of Michigan Central Campus Historic District.
The Central Student Government, located in the Michigan Union, is the student government of the University of Michigan. As a 501(c)(3) independent organization, it represents students from all colleges and schools, manages student funds, and has representatives from each academic unit. It is separate from the university administration.
Over the years, the Central Student Government has organized voter registration drives, changed a football seating policy, and created a Student Advisory Council for Ann Arbor city affairs. A long-term goal of the Central Student Government has been to create a student-designated seat on the Board of Regents. In 2000 and 2002, students Nick Waun, Scott Trudeau, Matt Petering, and Susan Fawcett ran for the Board of Regents as third-party nominees but were not successful. A 1998 poll by the State of Michigan found that most voters would support adding a student regent position if it were put to a vote. However, changing the Board of Regents' composition would require a constitutional amendment in Michigan.
In addition to the Central Student Government, each college and school at the University of Michigan has its own student governance body. Undergraduate students in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts are represented by the LS&A Student Government. Engineering students are represented by the Engineering Student Government. Graduate students in the Rackham Graduate School are represented by the Rackham Student Government. Law students are represented by the Law School Student Senate. Other colleges also have their own student governments. Students who live in residence halls are represented by the University of Michigan Residence Halls Association, which has the third-largest number of members after the Central Student Government and LS&A Student Government.
In the fiscal year 2022–23, the State of Michigan spent $333 million on the university, which is 3.03% of its total operating revenues of $11 billion. The university is the second-largest recipient of state funding for higher education in Michigan for 2022–23, after Michigan State University ($372 million). The Office of Budget and Planning reports that Michigan Medicine's auxiliary activities are the largest funding source, contributing $6.05 billion to the Auxiliary Funds, which account for 55.1% of the total operating budget. Student tuition and fees contributed $1.95 billion to the General Fund, which is 11% of the total budget. Research grants and contracts from the U.S. federal government contributed $1.15 billion to the Expendable Restricted Funds, which is 10.4% of the total budget.
The university's current (FY 2022–23) operating budget has four major funding sources:
- General Fund money, which accounts for 25.4% of the operating budget, comes from several sources: student tuition and fees ($1.95 billion or 75.2%), state support ($333 million or 12.8%), sponsored research ($301 million or 11.6%), and other revenue ($8 million or 0.3%). This covers teaching, student services, facilities, and administrative support. The state's contribution to the operating budget was 3.03% in 2023 and does not cover intercollegiate athletics, housing, or Michigan Medicine.
- Auxiliary Funds, which account for 58.2% of the operating budget, are funded by self-supporting units and do not receive taxpayer or tuition support. These include Michigan Medicine ($6.16 billion), intercollegiate athletics ($186 million), student housing ($160 million), and student publications.
- Expendable Restricted Funds, which account for 14.2% of the operating budget, come from donors who specify how their money is used. These funds include research grants and contracts, endowment payouts ($305 million), and private gifts ($157 million). They pay for scholarships and fellowships, salaries and benefits for some faculty, and research, programs, and academic centers.
- Designated Funds, which account for 2.2% of the operating budget, come from fees charged for experiential learning, programs, conferences, performance venues, and executive and continuing education.
The university's financial endowment, called the "University Endowment Fund," includes over 12,400 individual funds. Each fund must be used according to the donor's instructions. About 28%
Academics
The university provides 133 undergraduate majors and degrees across several colleges and schools. These include the College of Engineering (18), College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (77), College of Pharmacy (1), Ford School of Public Policy (1), LSA Residential College (3), Marsal Family School of Education (3), Ross School of Business (1), School of Dentistry (1), School of Information (2), School of Kinesiology (3), School of Music, Theatre & Dance (16), School of Nursing (1), School of Public Health (2), Stamps School of Art & Design (2), and Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning (2). In 2021, the most popular undergraduate majors were computer and information sciences (874 graduates), business administration and management (610 graduates), economics (542 graduates), behavioral neuroscience (319 graduates), mechanical engineering (316 graduates), and experimental psychology (312 graduates).
The Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies offers over 180 graduate degree programs in partnership with fourteen other schools and colleges. Nineteen graduate and professional degree programs, such as the juris doctor, master of business administration, doctor of dental surgery, master of engineering, doctor of engineering, doctor of medicine, and doctor of pharmacy, are managed solely by the schools and colleges, not by Rackham. In 2021-22, the university awarded 4,731 master's degrees, 892 academic doctorates, and 738 professional doctorates.
Undergraduate students can join research projects through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) and the UROP/Creative-Programs.
Admission to the university depends on academic performance, extracurricular activities, and personal qualities. The university uses a need-blind admission policy for domestic applicants, meaning financial need does not affect acceptance. Legacy preferences are not considered. Admissions officials value standardized test scores, essays, and recommendation letters, with a strong focus on academic records and GPA. High school class rank is not considered. For non-academic factors, character/personal qualities and whether the applicant is a first-generation university student are rated as "important." Extracurricular activities, talent, geographical residence, state residency, volunteer work, work experience, and interest are rated as "considered." Some applicants to Music, Theatre and Dance and the College of Engineering may be interviewed. A portfolio is required for Art, Architecture, and the Ross School of Business. Standardized test scores are recommended but not required. In 2025, 55% of enrolled freshmen submitted SAT scores, with middle 50% composite scores between 1370–1530. Eighteen percent of incoming freshmen submitted ACT scores, with middle 50% composite scores between 32–34.
U.S. News & World Report ranks Michigan as "Most Selective," and The Princeton Review rates its admissions selectivity at 96 out of 99. The Carnegie Classification describes admissions as "more selective, lower transfer-in." In 2023–24, the university received over 87,000 applications for its freshman class, making it one of the most applied-to universities in the United States. Of the 7,466 students accepted to the Class of 2027, 7,466 chose to attend.
Since fall 2021, the university has had the largest student population in the state, surpassing Michigan State University. Public concern exists that the university's growth might negatively affect smaller schools by drawing students away. Some regional public universities and private colleges have seen enrollment declines, while others struggle to maintain enrollment without lowering admission standards.
In the 2023 academic year, the university faced an unexpected increase in student enrollment, admitting more students than it could support. This over-yield situation has caused challenges in student housing, increased faculty workloads, and stretched resources. The university now uses a steady-state admissions strategy to maintain stable class sizes.
The Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies received 21,554 applications for doctoral programs in 2024, including summer and fall terms. It admitted 2,586 applicants (12% of the total), and 1,102 accepted offers, resulting in a 42.61% yield rate. Applicants may apply to multiple programs and receive multiple offers but can only join one program. Programs not managed by Rackham are not included in these statistics.
Doctoral program selectivity varies by discipline. For example, in 2023, business administration admitted 5.2% of 519 applicants, sociology admitted 5.01% of 439 applicants, and psychology admitted 4.1% of 805 applicants. Other highly competitive fields include philosophy, public policy & economics, political science, and robotics.
In 1841, the university first published admission requirements for freshmen. These emphasized proficiency in ancient languages, especially Latin and Greek. Applicants took exams covering arithmetic, algebra, English grammar, geography, Latin literature (Virgil and Cicero), Greek literature (Jacob's or Felton's Greek Reader), and Latin and Greek grammar.
In 1851, the university relaxed its admission policy by removing the ancient language requirement for students not pursuing traditional collegiate courses. This change marked a shift toward more diverse and modern academic offerings.
In 1863, the university introduced a standardized entrance exam for all academic and professional departments, replacing varied departmental requirements. This exam was praised for improving the admissions process.
In 2003, two lawsuits involving the university's affirmative action admissions policy reached the U.S. Supreme Court (Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger). President George W. Bush opposed the policy before the court ruled. The court allowed race to be considered as a factor in admissions for public and private universities accepting federal funding but ruled that a point system was unconstitutional. In the first case, the court supported the Law School's admissions policy, while in the second, it ruled against the policy.
Student life
As of fall 2023, the Ann Arbor campus had 52,065 students enrolled: 33,730 undergraduate students and 18,335 graduate students. The total number of employees reached 53,831, which included 21,475 individuals working with Michigan Medicine, 6,114 additional staff, 7,820 faculty members, and 18,422 regular staff. The largest college at the university was the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts with 21,973 students (42.2% of the total student body), followed by the College of Engineering (11,113; 21.3%) and Ross School of Business (4,433; 8.1%). All other colleges each had less than 5% of the total student population.
Students come from all 50 U.S. states and nearly 100 countries. As of 2022, 52% of undergraduate students were Michigan residents, while 43% came from other states. The rest of the undergraduate student body was made up of international students. Of the total student body, 43,253 (83.1%) were U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and 8,812 (16.9%) were international students as of November 2023.
As of October 2023, 53% of undergraduate students said they were White, 17% were Asian, 7% were Hispanic, 4% were Black, 5% belonged to two or more races, and 5% had an unknown racial background. The remaining 8% of undergraduates were international students.
According to a 2017 report by the New York Times, the median family income of a student at Michigan was $154,000. 66% of students came from families in the top 20% in terms of income. As of 2022, about 18% of undergraduate students received a Pell Grant.
By 2012, the university had 1,438 student organizations. With a history of student activism, some of the most visible groups include those focused on causes like civil rights and labor rights, such as local chapters of Students for a Democratic Society and United Students Against Sweatshops. Conservative groups also organize, such as the Young Americans for Freedom.
There are also several engineering project teams, including the University of Michigan Solar Car Team, which has won the North American Solar Challenge ten times and placed on the podium in the World Solar Challenge seven times. Another group is Wolverine Soft, a student-run game studio that has released more than 15 video games on itch.io and Steam. Other groups affiliated with the university include Michigan Interactive Investments, the Tamid Israel Investment Group, and the Michigan Economics Society.
The university also has many community service organizations and charitable projects, including the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children, Dance Marathon at the University of Michigan, The Detroit Partnership, Relay For Life, U-M Stars for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, InnoWorks at the University of Michigan, SERVE, Letters to Success, PROVIDES, Circle K, Habitat for Humanity, and Ann Arbor Reaching Out. Intramural sports are popular, and there are recreation facilities for each of the three campuses.
The Michigan Union and Michigan League are student activity centers on Central Campus. Pierpont Commons is on North Campus. The Michigan Union houses most student groups, including the student government. The William Monroe Trotter House, located east of Central Campus, is a multicultural student center operated by the university's Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs. The University Activities Center (UAC) is a student-run programming organization made up of 14 committees. Each group involves students in planning and organizing events on and off campus.
The Michigan Marching Band, made up of more than 350 students from almost all of U-M's schools, is the university's marching band. Over 125 years old (with a first performance in 1897), the band performs at every home football game and travels to at least one away game a year. The student-run and led University of Michigan Pops Orchestra is another musical group that attracts students from all academic backgrounds. It performs regularly in the Michigan Theater. The University of Michigan Men's Glee Club, founded in 1859 and the second oldest such group in the country, is a men's chorus with over 100 members. Its eight-member a cappella group, the University of Michigan Friars, which was founded in 1955, is the oldest currently running a cappella group on campus. The university is also home to over twenty other a cappella groups, including Amazin' Blue, The Michigan G-Men, and Compulsive Lyres, all of which have competed at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) finals in New York City. The Michigan G-Men are one of only six groups in the country to compete at ICCA finals four times, one of only two TTBB ensembles to do so, and placed third at the competition in 2015. Amazin' Blue placed fourth at ICCA finals in 2017.
The University of Michigan also has over 380 cultural and ethnic student organizations on campus. These include groups such as the Arab Student Association, Persian Student Association, African Students Association, and Egyptian Student Association.
Fraternities and sororities are part of the university's social life; about 7% of undergraduate men and 16% of undergraduate women are active in the Greek system. Four different Greek councils—the Interfraternity Council, Multicultural Greek Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, and Panhellenic Association—represent most Greek organizations. Each council has a different recruitment process. National honor societies such as Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Tau Beta Pi have chapters at U-M.
The university hosts three secret societies: Michigauma, Adara, and the Vulcans. Michigauma and Adara were once part of the umbrella group "The Tower Society," named after their historical locations in the Michigan Union tower. Michigauma was all-male, while Adara was all-female, though both later became co-ed.
Michigauma, more recently known as the Order of Angell, was formed in 1902 by a group of seniors in coordination with university president James Burrill Angell. The group disbanded in 2021 due to public concerns about elitism and the society's history. The group was granted a lease for the top floor of the Michigan Union tower in 1932, which they called the "tomb," but the society vacated the space in 2000. Until recent reforms, the group's rituals were inspired by Native American culture. Some people on campus called Michigauma a secret society, but others disagreed, as its member list has been published in The Michigan Daily and the Michiganensian and online since 2006 reforms.
Adara, known as Phoenix, was formed in the late 1970s by women leaders on campus and disbanded in 2021 due to campus criticisms of secret societies
Athletics
The university has 27 varsity sports teams, including 13 men's teams and 14 women's teams. These teams compete in the Big Ten Conference for most sports, except for the women's water polo team, which plays in the Collegiate Water Polo Association. All teams compete at the NCAA Division I level, including Division I FBS in football.
The teams share the nickname "Wolverines" with other college teams, such as the Utah Valley Wolverines, the Grove City Wolverines, and the Morris Brown Wolverines.
The university's athletic history began in the mid-1800s. The Pioneer Cricket Club was founded in 1860, and the first varsity sports team, baseball, was formed in 1866. Football started in 1879, and men's tennis began in 1893.
In 1896, the university became a founding member of the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives, which later became the Western Conference and eventually the Big Ten Conference.
In 1905, the university was involved in a national controversy about violence and professionalism in college football. This led to discussions about banning the sport from campuses. Stanford's president wrote articles accusing universities like Michigan and Chicago of using professional players. Michigan's president called for a reform conference on football and sent Albert Pattengill to represent the university.
The 1906 Angell Conference in Chicago resulted in rules to improve football safety, such as banning summer training and limiting ticket prices to 50 cents. A rule also prohibited hiring professional coaches, which affected Michigan's coach, Fielding Yost. Michigan was expelled from the Big Nine Conference in 1907 for not following these rules but returned in 1917.
In 1926, Harvard agreed to play football against Michigan, removing Princeton from its schedule. Princeton saw this as a threat to its rivalry with Harvard. By the 1930s, the "Big Three" rivalry was restored and later expanded into the Ivy League in 1939.
In 2023, the university considered leaving the Big Ten Conference after an NCAA investigation into sign-stealing by the football team. In 2025, the university again considered leaving the Big Ten to become independent, opposing the conference's plan to sell media rights. A regent said that if the Big Ten moved forward without the university, it would "be the end of Michigan in the Big Ten Conference."
The Ray Fisher Stadium, built in 1923, is the home of the baseball team. The Alumni Field at Carol Hutchins Stadium is the home of the softball team. The Yost Ice Arena, opened in 1923, is the home of the men's ice hockey team. The Crisler Center, opened in 1967, is the home of the men's and women's basketball teams and the women's gymnastics team. The Phyllis Ocker Field, built in 1995, is the home of the field hockey team.
Michigan Stadium is the largest stadium in the United States and ranks third globally. Before its construction in 1927, the football team played at Regents Field. In 1902, Dexter M. Ferry donated land next to Regents Field, and the area was renamed Ferry Field. Ferry Field was the home stadium until Michigan Stadium opened. Today, Ferry Field is used for tailgating during football games.
The Michigan fight song, "The Victors," was written by student Louis Elbel in 1898. It was praised by John Philip Sousa as "the greatest college fight song ever written." The song refers to the teams as "the Champions of the West," a title used when the Big Ten Conference was called the Western Conference.
The fight song is used at sporting events and other occasions, such as U.S. President Gerald Ford's presidency and funeral. The university's alma mater is "The Yellow and Blue," and a common rally cry is "Let's Go Blue!"
Before "The Victors" became the official fight song, "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" was considered the school song. After Michigan left the Western Conference in 1907, a new fight song called "Varsity" was written in 1911.
The Michigan football program has the most wins in NCAA history (1,004 as of 2023) and is tied for the highest winning percentage (.734) among FBS schools. The team won the first Rose Bowl in 1902 and had 40 consecutive winning seasons from 1968 to 2007. The Wolverines have won 45 Big Ten championships and 12 national championships, most recently in 2024. They have also produced three Heisman Trophy winners: Tom Harmon (1940), Desmond Howard (1991), and Charles Woodson (1997). In 2025, the university became the first institution to have first-round draft picks in all five major professional sports leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLS) in the same year.
The men's ice hockey team, which plays at Yost Ice Arena, has won nine national championships.
The men's basketball team, which plays at Crisler Center, has appeared in nine Final Fours, winning the 1989 and 2026 national championships. The team voluntarily vacated some victories from the 1992–1993 and 1995–1999 seasons due to improper payments to players and vacated its 1992 and 1993 Final Four appearances. The team most recently won back-to-back Big Ten Tournament Championships.
More than 250 Michigan athletes or coaches have participated in the Olympics, and as of 2021, students and alumni have won 155 Olympic medals. Through the 2012 Summer Olympics, 275 Michigan students and coaches had participated in the Olympics, winning medals in every Summer Games except 1896, and earning gold medals in all but four Olympiads. Students and student-coaches, including Michael Phelps, have won a total of 185 Olympic medals: 85.
Notable people
The university received important help when it started in the 1810s from the Freemason Zion Lodge of Detroit. This group gave money that was needed to create the university. Two-thirds of the total money used to start the university came from the Masonic lodge and its members. The Campau family, led by Joseph Campau (1769–1863) and his nephew John R. Williams (1782–1854), who was the first mayor of Detroit under the 1824 charter, gave a lot of money to build the university's first building. Some Campau family members were among the first graduates of the university, including Alexander Macomb Campau (1823–1908) and his son George Throop Campau (1847–1879).
Other families that helped the university include the Ford, Nichols, Marsal, and Tisch families. The Zell Family Foundation and the Li Ka Shing Foundation, which are in Hong Kong, also gave money. People who gave large donations include William Wilson Cook, Dexter Mason Ferry, William Erastus Upjohn, John Stoughton Newberry, Clara Harrison Stranahan, William K. Brehm, William Morse Davidson, A. Alfred Taubman, Penny W. Stamps, Stephen M. Ross, Charles Munger, and Ronald Weiser.
The university has 8,189 faculty members, and 3,195 of them have a job that can lead to a permanent position. Among these, there are 37 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 62 members of the National Academy of Medicine, 30 members of the National Academy of Engineering, 89 Sloan Research Fellows, 17 Guggenheim Fellows, 99 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 17 members of the American Philosophical Society. The university has had 14 Nobel Prize winners, 8 Pulitzer Prize winners, 3 David M. Holland Medal winners, and 1 John Bates Clark Medal winner as faculty or former faculty.
Current faculty include physicists Mark Newman, Duncan G. Steel, Steven Cundiff, Stephen Forrest, and Gordon Kane; mathematicians Hyman Bass, Sergey Fomin, William Fulton, Robert Griess, and Melvin Hochster; chemist Melanie Sanford; Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Heather Ann Thompson; National Medal of Science recipients Huda Akil and Robert Axelrod; biostatistician Gonçalo Abecasis; philosophers Elizabeth S. Anderson, Allan Gibbard, and Peter Railton; and social psychologist Richard E. Nisbett. The faculty also includes feminist legal theorist Catharine MacKinnon, Strict Scrutiny co-host Leah Litman, engineer James P. Bagian, and A. Galip Ulsoy, co-inventor of the reconfigurable manufacturing system.
Notable physics faculty have included Donald A. Glaser, the inventor of the bubble chamber; Samuel Goudsmit and George Uhlenbeck, who discovered electron spin; Kazimierz Fajans, co-discoverer of protactinium; Peter Franken, who first showed second-harmonic generation; Juris Upatnieks and Emmett Leith, inventors of 3D holography; Gérard Mourou, inventor of chirped pulse amplification; and H. Richard Crane, called "one of the most distinguished experimental physicists of the 20th century." Wolfgang Pauli, a pioneer of quantum physics, was a visiting professor in 1931 and 1941. Physicists Martin Lewis Perl and Lawrence W. Jones were co-advisors to Nobel laureate Samuel C. C. Ting. Perl won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1995 for discovering the tau lepton. Other famous physicists on the faculty include Martinus Veltman, Carl Wieman, and Ernest Courant. Notable mathematicians Raoul Bott, Richard Brauer, Samuel Eilenberg (co-founder of category theory), Frederick Gehring, Herman Goldstine, and Anatol Rapoport have also been on the faculty.
Philosophers on the faculty have included pragmatists John Dewey, Charles Horton Cooley, and George H. Mead, along with analytic philosophers William Frankena and Cooper Harold Langford. The faculty has included notable writers such as Nobel Prize-winning essayist Joseph Brodsky, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W. H. Auden, and Robert Frost, the only poet to win four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry.
In medicine, notable faculty members have included Francis Collins, former director of the National Institutes of Health; Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine; Charles B. Huggins, Nobel Prize-winning physiologist; Peyton Rous, co-discoverer of tumour-inducing viruses; James V. Neel, geneticist; Elizabeth C. Crosby, neuroanatomist; and Hamilton O. Smith, co-discoverer of restriction enzymes.
Past faculty have included Charles Tilly, called "the founding father of 21st-century sociology"; social psychologist Robert Zajonc; chemical engineer Donald L. Katz; Supreme Court justice Henry Billings Brown; Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Leslie Bassett; Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David C. Turnley; Nobel Prize-winning economist Lawrence R. Klein; and John Bates Clark Medal recipient Kenneth E. Boulding.
Notable people connected to the university include Kazimierz Fajans, Robert Frost, John Dewey, Elizabeth C. Crosby, Francis Collins, and Gérard Mourou.
Michigan alumni include nine Nobel laureates, two Abel Prize winners (Isadore M. Singer and Karen Uhlenbeck), two Fields Medalists (June Huh and Stephen Smale), five Turing Award winners, and 35 Pulitzer Prize winners. By the number of Pulitzer Prize winners, Michigan ranks fifth among all universities as of 2018.
Claude Shannon, who helped create the Information Age, is one of the most famous mathematicians from the university. Two Fields Medalists, Stephen Smale and June Huh, earned their doctorates in mathematics at Michigan. Isadore Singer, who won the Abel Prize and helped prove the Atiyah–Singer index theorem, studied physics at the university during World War II. Karen Uhlenbeck, the first woman to win the Abel Prize, graduated from the university in 1964. George Dantzig, who developed linear programming, studied at Michigan under G.Y. Rainich, R.L. Wilder, and T.H. Hildebrandt. Other mathematicians from the university include Kenneth Ira Appel, who solved the Four Color Theorem with Wolfgang Haken; Leonard Jimmie Savage, known for work in Bayesian statistics and decision theory; and Carl R. de Boor, a famous mathematician in numerical analysis.
In physics, Nobel laureate Samuel C. C. Ting, who discovered the J/ψ particle, studied under Martin Lewis Perl, another Nobel-winning