Today we take a look at the conference reforms that led Michigan to leave the Big Ten in the early 1900s. But while we were an Independent, we managed to schedule Minnesota. And thank goodness we did – those non-conference match-ups with the Gophers launched the Little Brown Jug rivalry. Michigan returned to the conference in 1917 and it didn’t take long to return to our winning ways. Go Blue!
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Go Blue! You’ll hear this live on the WTKA 1050AM KeyBank Countdown to Kickoff Saturday morning.
–M–
Good morning! Before we face off with the Illini, over 110,000 fans will salute a righteous set of pigskin warriors on Senior Day. Each of these graduates will leave knowing their legacy is secure by virtue of the championship they brought back to Ann Arbor in 2021 – and perhaps more.
As for the Illini, despite our shared conference roots going back to 1896, we’ve never played them on this day in history. Our most common opponent on November 19 is the Buckeyes, whom we’ve faced 10 times. This includes the 1977 game– a 14-6 victory for Bo’s men over Dr. StrangeHayes–in the ninth edition of the famed Ten-Year War.
The next most common opponent on this day in history is Minnesota, the first contested 132 years ago in 1910. This was actually the 2nd time the OG – the Little Brown Jug was on the line. But did you know that was actually a NON-CONFERENCE game?
Michigan left the B1G in 1907 thanks to a dispute over conference reforms. The folks in Ann Arbor objected as the league tried to implement drastic reforms to control the game The sport was far from perfect–with serious injuries even death on the field and rampant allegations of cheating across the country. And the academic establishment across the conference was concerned that the student body was becoming FAR more interested in watching football than hitting the books.
The B1G’s wanted to implement drastic changes: Drop the number of games to 5, reduce ticket prices to 50 cents, restrict player eligibility and above all, outlaw the notion of the “professional coach” – like Fielding H. Yost, who was hired solely to coach the football team and was not a faculty member.
So Michigan said “smell you later” and proceeded as an Independent for a decade starting in 1907, but managed to schedule a couple of games with former Big Ten foe Minnesota in 1909 and 1910. So on this day in 1910, thankfully the Wolverines won, 6-0, and kept the jug in Ann Arbor. We didn’t play another B1G opponent until we returned to the Big Ten in 1917. Rest assured It didn’t take Yost long to get back on track, winning every game in 1918 to claim Meechigan’s 5th National Title –
Go Blue! Beat the Illini! For more check out MVictors.com and WTKA.com – for the KeyBank Countdown to Kickoff, this is Professor Greg Dooley…
