Michigan has reasons to brag in basketball and football after reaching Final Four

Michigan Wolverines supporters can “Hail to the Victors” in football and men’s basketball. 

The Wolverines crushed the Tennessee Volunteers 95-62 in the Elite Eight at the United Center in Chicago on Sunday, securing their ninth Final Four appearance. (This figure includes appearances in 1992 and 1993 that the NCAA vacated because of violations.) 

That further proves the Wolverines are among the few schools that know football and basketball. 

Football Why it’s easy to argue Michigan is a football and basketball school 

Michigan is known for its football tradition. The Wolverines have won an NCAA-record 1,021 games since they began playing the sport in 1879. Since the introduction of the College Football Playoff during the 2014 season, the Wolverines have reached the semifinals three times and won the national championship during the 2023 season. 

The school, however, also boasts a rich basketball tradition. Michigan has won the Big Ten Tournament four times (one title was vacated) and made 33 NCAA Tournament appearances. It last won a national title in 1989 and made the championship game in 2013 and 2018.

Wolverines head coach Dusty May, in his second season with the program, attributes the program’s basketball pedigree to a love of the sport throughout the Midwest. 

“In the Midwest, the farming communities, it’s cold all winter,” Indiana native May said before Sunday’s game, per Jacob Hamilton of MLive.com. “You work in the summer, you work in the fall, you work in the spring, and then (all winter) you’re inside watching hoops.”

That’s somewhat true. Michigan and other Midwestern states are known for their frigid winters. However, let’s not ignore that money certainly plays an important role. Ahead of the Sweet 16, The Athletic’s Lindsay Schnell and Matt Baker reported the Wolverines ranked No. 20 nationally in basketball spending ($15.74M). The reporting didn’t include football spending, but it’s probably even more. 

The financial resources give Michigan a huge edge. It’s one of the few schools that can field competitive teams in the two most popular college sports.