Michigan Announces 2012, 2013 Football Schedules

Michigan finalized its football schedules for the 2012 and 2013 seasons and announced them earlier this week.

For 2012, we already knew the Wolverines had scheduled a neutral-site game against Alabama and other non-conference matchups against Air Force and Notre Dame. That left one opening, and Michigan filled it with UMass, which came to Michigan Stadium for a game in 2010 as an FCS school and will be an FBS school and a member of the MAC starting in 2012.

The 2013 non-conference schedule had two openings. Only Notre Dame and UConn were on it, and earlier this week Michigan announced matchups with Central Michigan and Akron. Both games are at home, as is the Notre Dame game. Michigan will play UConn on the road as part of the contract that brought the Huskies to the Big House last season.

Here are Michigan's full 2012 and 2013 schedules:

2012

Sept. 1 - vs. Alabama (at Cowboys Stadium in Texas)

Sept. 8 - vs. Air Force

Sept. 15 - vs. UMass

Sept. 22 - at Notre Dame

Sept. 29 - BYE

Oct. 6 - at Purdue

Oct. 13 - vs. Illinois

Oct. 20 - vs. Michigan State

Oct. 27 - at Nebraska

Nov. 3 - at Minnesota

Nov. 10 - vs. Northwestern

Nov. 17 - vs. Iowa

Nov. 24 - at Ohio State

2013

Aug. 31 - vs. Central Michigan

Sept. 7 - vs. Notre Dame

Sept. 14 - vs. Akron

Sept. 21 - at UConn

Sept. 28 - BYE

Oct. 5 - vs. Minnesota

Oct. 12 - at Penn State

Oct. 19 - vs. Indiana

Oct. 26 - BYE

Nov. 2 - at Michigan State

Nov. 9 - vs. Nebraska

Nov. 16 - at Northwestern

Nov. 23 - at Iowa

Nov. 30 - vs. Ohio State

Michigan To Host Air Force At The Big House In 2012

Michigan's 2012 football schedule is one step closer to being complete. Athletic director Dave Brandon announced this afternoon on Twitter that the Wolverines will host Air Force on Sept. 8, 2012. The agreement between Michigan and Air Force is for one game and brings Michigan's 2012 schedule to 11 games:

Sept. 1 - vs. Alabama (at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX)

Sept. 8 - vs. Air Force

Sept. 22 - at Notre Dame

Oct. 6 - at Purdue

Oct. 13 - vs. Illinois

Oct. 20 - vs. Michigan State

Oct. 27 - at Nebraska

Nov. 3 - at Minnesota

Nov. 10 - vs. Northwestern

Nov. 17 - vs. Iowa

Nov. 24 - at Ohio State

The 2012 slate of games is shaping up to be quite a test for Michigan. In 2011, Michigan has eight home games, including Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State all coming to Ann Arbor. In 2012, on the other hand, Michigan has to play all three of those teams on the road and play a neutral-site game against Alabama down in Texas.

Adding Air Force, a solid non-BCS team, to the mix also makes the non-conference schedule much tougher than most years. Next season Michigan plays Notre Dame like usual, as well as San Diego State, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan. In '12, however, the Wolverines will have to play Notre Dame, Alabama, Air Force and another team that is TBD. I would assume that fourth non-conference game will be against a MAC team or an FCS school, as Michigan will be deserving of having a cupcake game amongst a stretch that includes the Crimson Tide, Falcons and Fighting Irish.

Michigan To Receive $4.7 Million Payday For Playing Alabama In 2012

If there was any concern in the Michigan athletic department about losing a home football game in 2012 when the Wolverines play Alabama at Cowboys Stadium, news of the payout the school will receive should ease any fears about potential lost revenues.

According to the Detroit News, Michigan will be paid $4.7 million for participating in the “Cowboys Stadium Classic” on September 1, 2012. That is approximately the same amount that the school would draw from a game at Michigan Stadium.

The News discovered this in the contract agreement, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Strangely, details of Alabama’s payout were not seen in the contract.

Other information the News found in the contract: 25,000 tickets will be alloted to Michigan for the game. And roughly 50 suites at Cowboy Stadium will be for sale to Michigan and Alabama.

Two open dates remain on the Wolverines’ 2012 football schedule. Those will both presumably be home games, as Michigan currently only has four games scheduled at home for 2012.

Dave Brandon Talks About How Michigan-Alabama Game Came About

Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon went on WTKA 1050 in Ann Arbor last Friday to talk about the Michigan-Alabama game, which was finally made official last week. Brandon talked about why Michigan decided to get involved in this neutral-site game with Alabama and he also discussed how it all came about.

"Very soon after I got the job I started having some conversations with folks internally, and some of our boards of advisors and one of my questions was: how would you feel about the University of Michigan on a very rare but exceptional and special basis playing a game at a neutral site because it affords the ability to create these big matchups, go to really interesting and exciting venues and get on the big stage?

'The feedback I got was very positive and there had been discussions long ago about the Meadowlands when they were opening up the new stadium there and some other things that had been discussed but really didn’t get deep into it. Then when ESPN contacted me and Jerry Jones had an availability of interest the whole thing started to bubble and the next thing you know we got it done."

Brandon later talked about if this game will have an effect on the rivalry with Notre Dame. Currently, Michigan is scheduled to play at Notre Dame in 2012, meaning the Wolverines' schedule not only is tough, but it only has six home games. Brandon didn't say anything definitive about the game, but he made it sound like Michigan and Notre Dame are working toward making a change to the series. A two-year break at some point in the future has been discussed, but originally it wasn't going to happen until later in the decade. Perhaps it could be moved up so Michigan has more flexibility with its schedule in 2012, allowing for an extra home game.

Rich Rodriguez Talks Michigan-Alabama Game

During his weekly radio show on Thursday, Rich Rodriguez talked a bit about the 2012 season opener between Michigan and Alabama, which was announced earlier in the day.

"It's a great opener," Rodriguez said on his weekly radio show Thursday night. "That's going to be a very exciting day.

"It's going to be two great programs, that will be the whole talk the whole summer," Rodriguez said. "I know our players, the underclassmen, are very excited about it."

Rodriguez is definitely right about it being the talk of the summer. Usually fans are looking forward to the start of football season in general rather than the specific game that will open the season. That was the case with UConn this past summer for Michigan fans. The excitement was for the start of football season, not to play UConn. For the Alabama game in 2012, however, it will be very exciting to not only get football season started again, but it will be just as exciting to play the Crimson Tide down in JerryWorld.

It's Official: Michigan To Play Alabama In 2012 At Cowboys Stadium

After months of rumors and speculation, the Michigan-Alabama game in Dallas to open the 2012 season has officially been announced. Here is an excerpt from the press release sent out by Michigan:

The University of Michigan football team will face the University Alabama in the 2012 College Football Kick-off Event at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 1, 2012. The game will be televised nationally in prime time.

"This is a great way to kick off the 2012 season with two of the nation's winningest college football programs," said U-M director of athletics Dave Brandon. "We are excited about playing a regular-season game in the state of Texas, a region of the country where we have traditionally recruited. Our goal is to get as many Michigan fans to the game as possible to witness this match-up of traditional powers."

The Wolverines will be the away team with the Crimson Tide designated the home team. The game officials will be a crew from the Big 12 Conference. This will be the fourth time in school history that Michigan faces Alabama, and it will be the first contest played during the regular season by the two programs.

The previous three matchups between Michigan and Alabama all occurred in bowl games, with Michigan winning the 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl and the 2000 Orange Bowl. Alabama beat the Wolverines in the 1997 Outback Bowl.

Michigan's 2012 schedule is now two games away from being complete. The Wolverines have three open dates (Sept. 8, Sept. 15 and Sept. 29) for two non-conference matchups at home. Florida Atlantic was rumored as a possible opponent in 2012, but so far nothing official has come of that.

With a neutral-site game thrown into the mix, Michigan will actually only end up having a total of six home games during the 2012 season. Michigan hasn't had fewer than seven home games since 2004, when there were only 11 total games on the regular season schedule. Under Bill Martin, the attitude was to get as many home games as possible, but Dave Brandon is obviously willing to pass up a home game in order to be on a national stage down in Dallas against Alabama. Personally, I would have rather just done a home and home with 'Bama, but there's no doubt kicking off the 2012 season down in Dallas will be very cool.

Michigan-Alabama Game In 2012 Not Official Yet

Although Nick Saban proclaimed last week that Michigan and Alabama were set to play in Dallas in 2012, the game has not been officially agreed to just yet, according to Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon.

"There have been a lot of discussions," Brandon said. "I've said that I am all for us occasionally playing on a big, prime-time stage and showing that we're not afraid to play anyone anywhere."

Every time something comes out about how the game is basically a done deal, someone else seemingly comes out and says nothing is official. Once again that has happened, although at this point the game appears to be all but official. All signs point to the game happening, and I'm sure Michigan and Alabama just want to announce it on their terms.

Nick Saban: Michigan Will Play Alabama In 2012 At Cowboys Stadium

All of the previous reports of Michigan playing Alabama at Cowboy Stadium in 2012 were corroborated by a pretty credible source... Nick Saban:

It hasn't been announced officially yet, Alabama coach Nick Saban said tonight on his radio show, but he announced it anyway: Alabama will play Michigan in 2012 in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The original title of the linked source on al.com is really poorly written because it makes it seem like Michigan is also playing Alabama in Atlanta in 2013 and 2014: 

Tide will play Michigan in 2012 in Dallas and in Atlanta in 2013 and '14

My excitement was subdued when the article said 'Bama will actually be playing ACC opponents, which makes sense considering the annual Atlanta game is usually apart of the ACC/SEC season kickoff. Anyway, a Michigan/Alabama match up at Cowboys Stadium is going to be amazing. Unfortunately, it's almost two seasons away. I guess we can put our excitement and the impending hype, which will be a lot, in our back pockets for now.

Is Michigan-Alabama The Exciting News Dave Brandon Is Talking About?

The Wolverine recently caught up with Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon, and although the content of that conversation is in a premium story, I think the headline says it all.

Brandon: Exciting news is coming

With all of this talk about future schedules and Alabama, it would be hard to believe if Brandon is talking about anything but the rumored game in 2012.

As speculated in the previous update to this StoryStream, all signs point to an announcement being made soon, so I would bet that exciting news involves Michigan and Alabama and the rumored neutral-site game in 2012. Nothing is guaranteed until the contract is finalized, of course, but it seems like it's on the path to being made official.

Report: Michigan, Alabama 'Working On' 2012 Game

About a week ago, rumors about a possible matchup in 2012 between Michigan and Alabama started to surface. At that time they were still in the "I read it from a guy on a message board who heard it from some radio station" phase, meaning there wasn't a whole lot of credence behind it. Shortly thereafter, however, the rumor started picking up serious steam and appeared to be more than just a rumor when mgoblog reported that a contract signing was set for this past Monday.

As it stands right now, it is unknown if a contract is going to be signed in the immediate future, and Michigan officials have declined to say a whole lot about the rumor. Even so, it does look like things are moving in the direction of a game being scheduled, as evidenced by this report from Angelique Chengelis.

Still, another source involved in the negotiations, but not as a representative from either school, has indicated the deal is not done, but Michigan and Alabama are working on the matchup. The source said the teams want to control when the announcement is made if the game is finalized.

That last sentence is the most interesting thing to me, because it may say a lot about the "nothing is imminent" denials Michigan gave earlier this week. If this matchup does actually happen, you can bet that Michigan, Alabama, ESPN, Cowboys Stadium and whoever else is involved will want to make the announcement on their terms, not have it leak out prematurely on a blog. If that is in fact the case, then it would be similar to the announcement that happened earlier this year about the Notre Dame night game in 2011. Word of that leaked out but was met with a "nothing is close" type of response, yet days later an official announcement was made by Michigan.

Right now it appears that Michigan and Alabama are working out the final details of a deal to play in 2012, and it probably is only a matter of time until the matchup becomes official. From mgoblog:

My source re-iterates: it is happening, with all three parties set on an agreement and just waiting to announce it when everything gets dotted and crossed.

Although last-minute issues could always come up and become an obstacle for a deal getting finalized, I would bet we hear something official one way or the other pretty soon.

Report: Michigan-Alabama Game 'Not Close To Being Finalized'

It's definitely possible that Michigan and Alabama could help get the 2012 college football season started with a game against each other at a neutral site, but for now it doesn't look like a deal will be happening in the immediate future. From the Mobile Press-Register:

A high-profile football game against Michigan in Dallas is being considered as a possible addition to Alabama's 2012 schedule, but a deal between the two schools is not close to being finalized at this point, a UA source said today. [...]

Deliberations have taken place, but Alabama's opponent for this proposed big-ticket 2012 non-conference game has not been finalized and may not be for some time, the source said. The same goes for the site of the game. UA is still considering Atlanta and Jacksonville, Fla., (two sites where it has recently played non-conference games) in addition to Dallas.

A spokesman for Michigan wouldn't get into specifics involving scheduling, but he did confirm that nothing is expected to happen in the near future.

“We are looking to fill open dates in our future schedules and have been in discussions with multiple schools,” U-M spokesman Dave Ablauf said. “Nothing is currently imminent.”

Even though both sides are saying that nothing is imminent, color me a little skeptical based on how the news broke about the Notre Dame night game in 2011. Shortly before the announcement was made, there were rumblings of a possible night game, but they were sort of shot down because things were supposedly still in the very early stages. What ended up happening is the announcement was made just days later, indicating that things were moving faster than originally thought. I'm not saying that is what will happen with the possible Michigan-Alabama game, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit.

Michigan To Play Alabama In 2012 At Cowboys Stadium?

Late last week, a rumor from Alabama emerged about the possibility of the Crimson Tide playing Michigan in 2012. Specifically, the rumor suggested that the two teams would play in Dallas at Cowboys Stadium in the first week of the 2012 season, which would be one of Michigan's biggest non-conference games in a long, long time.

The rumor itself seemed a bit iffy just because of the way Michigan's schedule is set up for 2012, but it continued gaining traction over the weekend, and now Brian of mgoblog is reporting that the contract for the game will be signed tomorrow.

Why is this game going to happen? Brian's source indicates that a "desperate" Jerry Jones "overpaid" to bring Michigan and Alabama together at Cowboys Stadium. Why is Michigan taking part in a game like this, which is unprecedented for the football program? Once again from Brian's source, it appears that Michigan will end up with more money from this event than Alabama and will be the "nominal home team." At the very least, one can conclude that Michigan will receive more money than they would for a regular home game at Michigan Stadium, because that is the only way athletic director Dave Brandon would consider playing at a neutral site instead of at the Big House.

Initially when I heard this rumor, I was very excited about the possibility of not only getting to play Alabama, but also the possibility of playing at "JerryWorld" down in Dallas. It is quite possibly the most luxurious football stadium out there, and it would be a cool experience to get to watch a game there featuring Michigan and Alabama (and getting an in-person look at the biggest scoreboard in the history of scoreboards).

As I started to read more of the comments about this rumor, my opinion changed a bit. I'm still excited for the game, but as many have suggested, it would be cooler if this was a home-and-home series that brought 'Bama to Michigan Stadium and allowed the Wolverines to play a game in Tuscaloosa. That way the two teams would get to play twice, and instead of having a game at an NFL stadium that will lack the atmosphere of a college venue, each team would get to host a game. It would provide fans of each team a chance to watch these two historic programs play in their backyard, and it would also allow them to travel to the opposing venue, which would be a very cool experience as well.

While I would prefer a home-and-home series, there's no doubt that I am already looking forward to this huge matchup, and it's still two years away assuming the contract is in fact signed tomorrow. Aside from the fact that Michigan would be doing something different with their schedule for a change, the magnitude of this game is going to be off the charts. It's not like either program needs more publicity or anything, but you can bet College Gameday would be in Dallas for this game and it would likely be the first Saturday night contest of the season. To say the least, there would be a lot of hype surrounding this game, especially if the coaches are still Nick Saban, who used to coach Michigan State, and Rich Rodriguez, who turned down the Alabama job before Saban was hired.

If this game does happen, it would certainly make you wonder about Michigan's schedule. Currently for 2012, the Wolverines are scheduled to play at Notre Dame. Nothing else has been announced yet, and Michigan's conference schedule is unknown because it needs to be redone now that Nebraska is in the Big Ten. Usually you won't see Michigan giving up a home game in a year they already play at Notre Dame, which would mean hosting only six games at the Big House in 2012. In that regard, playing a game against Alabama in Dallas doesn't make much sense.

On the flip side, Michigan and Notre Dame are currently scheduled to take a two-year hiatus from the rivalry in 2018 and 2019 to "play home-and-home series with other schools." Perhaps it's possible that the hiatus could be moved up or replicated in 2012 and 2013, because Michigan is scheduled to play a road game against UConn in 2013. By taking the two years off starting in 2012, it would allow Michigan to play seven home games, which has basically been the minimum ever since the schedule expanded to 12 games every season.

It will certainly be interesting to see how all of this plays out if the Michigan and Alabama game at Cowboys Stadium does in fact come to fruition, but all I can say is I will be booking my tickets to Dallas if it does.