UPDATES FROM THE AD
Dear Michigan Fans,

I hope everyone is enjoying the start of summer and can get a break, relax and recharge over the next few months.

The landscape of college athletics continues to change at a rapid pace, and Michigan Athletics is taking the necessary and proactive steps to secure our leadership role now and far into the future. To consistently compete for championships across all 29 of our varsity sports, we must look at new, innovative revenue streams. Crucially, this includes expanding our support for Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) to build and sustain the championship-caliber rosters you expect—and that delivered a football national championship in 2023, our men's basketball national championship this year, and seven Big Ten Championships during the 2025-26 academic year.

For generations, the bowl of Michigan Stadium has been a sacred space. We have intentionally protected the Big House from the commercialization seen elsewhere, limiting on-field and in-stadium visuals to the Big Ten Conference logo, the Allstate field goal nets, and our partnerships with Nike/Jordan and Gatorade. Given my history as a football player, I have great respect for Michigan Stadium's long, storied, and distinguished history. We will work to ensure that any advertising is implemented strategically, tastefully, and in a manner consistent with the values of the University of Michigan. 

However, to support our student-athletes in this new era without compromising their competitive edge, we must carefully expand our corporate sponsorships into venues where we have previously held back. To that end, our partners at Michigan Sports Properties and Learfield are currently in discussions with potential sponsors about our new Leaders and Best Champion Partner Program.

We are approaching these discussions with the utmost respect for the tradition of the Big House. We are exploring new revenue assets that are highly visible but thoughtfully integrated, including:
  • Jersey patches
  • On-field and on-court logos
  • In-game sponsorships and digital scoreboard advertising
The revenue generated through this program will be directly invested in our student-athletes through scholarships, NIL opportunities, upgrading our athletic facilities, and retaining our world-class coaches. While these initiatives represent a new era in revenue generation, please know that we remain fiercely committed to upholding Michigan's core values. We will preserve the look, feel, and soul of the Michigan Stadium experience that makes Saturdays in Ann Arbor so special.


Looking ahead, I am thrilled to share two exciting events happening at Michigan this summer and fall:
  • Morgan Wallen Concerts (July 24 & 25): Later this summer, Michigan Stadium will host country music star Morgan Wallen. Tickets are still available for both the Friday and Saturday night shows.
  • Women in Sports: Elevate HER Summit (Thursday, Oct. 15): Held at the Stephen M. Ross Athletic Campus, this summit is designed to advance our sports teams, celebrate women leaders, and create mentorship opportunities for student-athletes, alumni, and community members. Emceed by Michigan alumna Andrea Joyce, the event is free and open to everyone. More details on speakers and guests will be announced soon. Sign up to receive more information as it's announced.
Elevate Her Summit
Thank you for your unmatched, continued support of Michigan Athletics. Your loyalty is what truly makes us the Leaders and Best. We cannot wait to welcome you back to campus this fall.

Go Blue!
Warde Manuel,
Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics
TEAM UPDATES
BASEBALL - The Wolverines finished their season in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, falling 4-6 to No. 2-seed Nebraska. U-M held a 34-24 record over the season, with big wins over Oregon and Oregon State highlighting the 2026 campaign. Four Wolverines earned All-Big Ten honors while junior second baseman Colby Turner garnered All-American honors from the NCBWA and the ABCA. Sophomore Brayden Jefferis won the ABCA/Rawlings Sporting Goods Gold Glove Award at third base, becoming the first winner in program history. Additionally, Head Coach Tracy Smith will serve as an assistant coach for the US Collegiate National Team this summer.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - There is already plenty to look forward to as the Wolverines begin preparations for the 2026-27 season. Michigan will head overseas in August for a foreign tour through Lithuania and Croatia, featuring three exhibition games and valuable team-building experiences. Once the regular season arrives, the Wolverines will renew their rivalry with UConn in a rematch of the 2026 national championship game on Nov. 6 at Boston's TD Garden as part of the TNT Sports Hall of Fame Series. Michigan will also return to Las Vegas to defend its Players Era Championship title, opening the 16-team event against Creighton on Nov. 24.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - The Big Ten released Michigan’s conference opponent breakdown, with U-M playing 16 teams once and MSU twice. Michigan is listed as a top-five team by ESPN (No. 4), The Athletic (No. 4) and USA Today (No. 5). Season ticket holders - mark your calendars! Season ticket renewals are underway and will run until June 24. Tickets to the game against UConn at Crisler Center on November 5 are on sale now.
FIELD HOCKEY - The Wolverines announced their 2026 schedule, featuring a challenging 16-game regular-season slate, including eight home games at Phyllis Ocker Field. Michigan will once again open the season at the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge from Aug. 28-30, facing North Carolina and host Wake Forest at Kenter Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. Newly-named assistant coach Abby Tamer is currently competing with the U.S. Women’s National Team in the FIH Nations Cup in Auckland, New Zealand, where she turned in her best international performance to date with four goals in pool play against Uruguay.
FOOTBALL - The Michigan Athletics ticket office recently announced that single-game ticket sales for Michigan football will take place from Tuesday, July 7, to Friday, July 10. Theme games were also revealed for the 2026 home slate. This year will feature a Maize Out when Oklahoma visits the Big House (Presented by Coca-Cola on Sept. 12), and the Stripe Out returns when the Wolverines take on Iowa (Presented by Meijer on Sept. 26). Additional theme games include Homecoming vs. Penn State (Presented by DTE on Oct. 17), Block Cancer vs. Indiana (Presented by the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center on Oct. 24), Military Appreciation vs. Michigan State (Presented by Belfor on Nov. 7) and Senior Day vs. UCLA (Nov. 21). For more information on ticket sales timelines, visit the football ticket information page.
Michigan Football Single-Game Tickets - Western Michigan, Oklahoma, UTEP, Iowa, Penn State, Indiana, Michigan State, UCLA
ICE HOCKEY - In conjunction with the Big Ten, the team unveiled its 2026-27 conference schedule. Opponents, weekends and locations have been determined. Because game dates are still being finalized around basketball scheduling, conference series are listed as a date range (Thursday through Sunday). Exact game dates, start times and television information will be announced at a later date.

Former Wolverine Zach Werenski won the 2026 James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top defenseman. Werenski is the second Wolverine to win the honor in the last three years, joining Quinn Hughes, who won in 2024. This year, Werenski led all NHL defensemen in even-strength goals (18) and shots (260), was second in points (81), even-strength points (59), average time on ice (26:37), and was third in goals (22) and fourth in assists (59). He tied the single-season franchise record for assists, matching his total from last year and Artemi Panarin in 2018-19 and became the 10th defenseman in NHL history to lead his team in scoring in back-to-back seasons. During the season, Werenski had a career-best nine-game point streak (two goals, 11 assists, 13 points) while the Blue Jackets went on a 20-3-4 run.

The 2026 NHL Draft will be held June 26-27 in Buffalo, N.Y. Current Wolverines Adam Valentini and Dakoda Rheume-Mullen are both draft eligible, as is incoming player J.P. Hurlbert. Hurlbert is a projected first-round selection and spent this past season with Kamloops (WHL).
ROWING - The Wolverines ended their 2026 season with a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championships in Georgia (May 29-31). Earlier last month, the team recorded a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championship (May 15-17) that produced first-team All-Big Ten honors for coxswain Logan Roeder and second-team honors for rowers Madeleine Lauriault and Jana Peachey. U-M outperformed its seeding in all three boat classes at the national championship regatta, including a C Final win for the 1V8, and secured the program’s 13th straight top-12 finish in the final polls.
MEN'S SOCCER - Under the direction of 15th-year head coach Chaka Daley, Michigan announced its 2026 schedule. The 16-game slate features six non-conference matches and 10 Big Ten contests. Michigan will open the Big Ten portion of its schedule with a home match against rival Indiana on Sept. 11. U-M will take on defending national champion Washington at U-M Soccer Stadium on Oct. 26 before closing the regular season with a rivalry match against Ohio State on Nov. 4. Tickets for the upcoming season will go on sale on July 14. Join the Michigan Soccer Ticket Interest List to be notified when tickets go on sale and to learn about special promotions throughout the season.
WOMEN'S SOCCER - The Wolverines announced their 2026 schedule, the first season under new head coach Dave DiIanni. Tickets for the upcoming season will go on sale on July 14. Join the Michigan Soccer Ticket Interest List to be notified when tickets go on sale and to learn about special promotions throughout the season.
SOFTBALL - Michigan wrapped its 2026 season at the NCAA Regional in Norman, Okla., falling to the host – and perennial power – Sooners in the championship final. Lauren Putz was named an at-large selection to the NFCA All-America second team, becoming the 71st All-American in U-M program history and the second outfielder to earn the distinction in as many years after Jenissa Conway garnered third-team honors in 2025. Putz is also the second member of her family to earn All-America honors, joining her mother, Kelsey [Kollen] Putz, a two-time All-American at second base, who was named to the first team in 2001 and the second team in 1999. The Wolverines announced the addition of RHP Sydney Schwartz as a graduate transfer. Schwartz comes to Ann Arbor after four seasons at Minnesota and will have one year of eligibility remaining for the 2027 season.
SWIMMING & DIVING - Michigan announced two coaching staff changes, a promotion and a hiring. Gunnar Schmidt was promoted to associate head coach after serving three years as an associate coach with Michigan. Schmidt joins fellow coach Aaron Bell in the associate head coach role. 

U-M announced the hiring of Kyle Patnode as an assistant coach on June 1. Patnode comes to Ann Arbor from Illinois, where he was an assistant coach for four seasons. Prior to Illinois, Patnode also spent time at South Carolina, Ohio State and Iowa.
MEN'S TENNIS - Max Dahlin was named the ITA Regional Rookie of the Year after an impressive first season with the Wolverines. The Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year earned two All-America honors and ranked as high as No. 6 in singles and No. 7 in doubles. In addition to five Wolverines earning Academic All-Big Ten honors, Mert Oral and Nicholas Steiglehner captured Academic All-District honors. Oral was also named a third-team Academic All-American.

Head coach Sean Maymi rounds out his incoming class with Evan Burnett, a transfer from the University of Texas. The Wolverines boast the No. 6-ranked recruiting class nationally by tennisrecruiting.com.
WOMEN'S TENNIS - Piper Charney was named to the CSC Academic All-America third team, becoming the third Wolverine in program history to earn the honor. She will also participate in the American Collegiate Player Wildcard Playoffs with the chance to qualify for the US Open. Lily Jones and Jessica Bernales will also compete as a doubles team.

TRACK & FIELD - Michigan closed out its 2026 campaign at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 10-13, earning three podium finishes and eight NCAA First and Second Team All-America honors. All five men representing Michigan advanced to their respective finals, with Trent McFarland capturing silver in the 1,500-meter run (3:37.18) and Miles Brown finishing seventh in the 800-meter run (1:45.59). On the women’s side, Elizabeth Tapper led the team’s effort with a seventh-place finish in the shot put (17.54m). The Wolverines will now look to international competition, with select members of the team continuing their campaigns at respective senior-level and U20 national championships.
VOLLEYBALL - Michigan will open the 2026 season hosting LIU and Miami in Cliff Keen Arena on Aug. 28-29. The Wolverines will then host South Carolina, LSU and Michigan State in the Big Ten/SEC Challenge on Sept. 1-2 before traveling to Valparaiso, Ind., and Tampa, Fla. U-M will close out non-conference play hosting three teams beginning on Sept. 17. Conference play will open at home on Sept. 25 against Penn State and continues against Washington two days later. Michigan's first Big Ten road matches come on Oct. 2-3 against USC and UCLA. The Wolverines will play nine more home conference matches, including Nebraska on Oct. 30 and Ohio State on Nov. 11. Season Tickets renewals are available through Tuesday, June 23. Fans can join the ticket interest list to be notified when tickets go on sale later this summer and to receive promotional information throughout the season.
WRESTLING - Hayden Walters captured Pan-American gold in the U23 freestyle division at 92kg in Lima, Peru, posting 4-0 tournament record with a 7-2 win over Puerto Rico's Lorenzo Pellot-Vazquez in the championship final. Walters also claimed the U23 national title at 92kg two weeks earlier with a 7-0 mark and sweep in the best-of-three final against Indiana’s Gabe Sollars, earning a second-period pin (3:44) and 6-1 decision. Walters headlined a contingent of seven total placewinners. Brock Mantanona took runner-up at 86kg, while incoming freshmen Kellen Wolbert and Haakon Peterson placed third at 65kg and 74kg in the U20 division. Wolverine great Mason Parris is set to compete at Final X this Friday (June 19), where he will face Wyatt Hendrickson in a best-of-three series for the senior world team spot 125kg freestyle.
STUDENT-ATHLETE CAREER VENTURES
Michigan Athletics prides itself on providing unique, eye-opening experiences for its student-athletes that help them develop comprehensively as individuals. As part of this mission, the Graham Family Athletics Career Center organizes Career Venture trips every summer, connecting student-athletes with passionate U-M alumni and donors across diverse professions and corporate settings. Student-athletes may apply to participate in career ventures to places such as Los Angeles, Houston, New York City and London, where they visit a myriad of businesses while experiencing the unique personalities of each city. The goal is to help them learn what they do - and do not - want to pursue in life after college.

Once the student-athletes return, they are asked to submit reflections on the experience, critical takeaways, what they learned about themselves, and feedback on how to improve the trips. Some call it a game-changer, we call it the Michigan Difference.
Student-athletes holding the Block M flag outside of Google's London office

Student-athletes outside the Big Ben clock in London

Student-athletes at CAA in Los Angeles

Student-athletes at Disney Studios in Los Angeles

Student-athletes on the Rich Eisen Show set in Los Angeles

NIL AT MICHIGAN
Michigan student-athletes and staff at AthleteCON in Las Vegas
Back row, left to right: Ashley Sofilkanich, Women’s Basketball; Sydney Schnichels, Volleyball; Drew Diebolt, Men’s Soccer; Nick Nobles, Men’s Soccer; Ricky Liburd, Men’s Basketball; Richy Turner, Director of NIL & Athlete Engagement. Front row, left to right: Payton Smith, Track and Field; Jahzara Ranger, Women’s Gymnastics; Adi Walick, Women's Soccer; Ayelel Meyen, Rowing; Connor Owens, Wrestling; Danielle Davison, Assistant Athletic Director for NIL; Terése Whitehead, Altius Executive GM for NIL.
This month, the NIL Team and the ICON (Inspiring Creative Opportunities for NIL) program continued their commitment to investing in student-athlete success in the NIL space by sending 10 student-athletes and three administrators to AthleteCon 3.0 in Las Vegas. Michigan’s student-athlete group featured six women and four men representing nine different sports, helping extend the experience's impact as participants shared key insights and takeaways with their teammates.

AthleteCon is a student-athlete-focused convention dedicated to helping student-athletes build connections, learn from leading content creators, and engage with industry-leading companies such as Meta, Twitch, Snapchat and more. This NIL and professional development event offered student-athletes valuable strategies for personal branding, best practices for content creation and experience practicing their networking skills.

The ICON program will continue to prioritize educational experiences that equip Michigan student-athletes with the tools to develop during their time as Michigan student-athletes and beyond.
WOLVERINE KIDS CLUB
2026-27 Wolverine Kids Club Maize Pack includes a basketball jersey, sunglasses, beanie, popitz, membership pass and lanyard and stickers
Become a member of the Wolverine Kids Club presented by the University of Michigan Credit Union for the 2026-27 season to receive exclusive benefits and access to Kids Club opportunities at Michigan Athletics events! With two membership options to fit your child’s Maize & Blue fandom, this is an opportunity that you don’t want to miss. Maize Memberships historically sell out, so purchase your memberships soon! Wolverine Kids Club Memberships are available to fans in 6th grade and under only.
BIG HOUSE 5K
The 2027 Big House 5K race beneficiary application is now open. If you are affiliated with a non-profit that would make a good candidate for consideration, please submit an application.
Big House 5k races go through the starting line
MICHIGAN SPORTS CAMPS
Ariel image of the Michigan Athletics campus with a blue overlay and text Michigan Sports Camps
Do you have a future Wolverine looking to grow their skills? A variety of sports camps are offered on the Michigan Athletics campus over the summer! Camps are open to any and all entrants; attendance may be limited based on several factors such as age, number, and grade level. Learn more about open camps and register by visiting the Michigan Sports Camp webpage.
FROM THE DIAG
It Happened at Michigan: When the Michigan Union Made a Splash
The Michigan Union once had an unexpected campus gem: a full swimming pool. Opened in 1925 and dedicated during a victorious meet against Wisconsin, the pool served as a hub for recreation and competition for decades, though largely limited to male students at the time. By the 1960s, declining use and rising costs led to its closure, and the space was eventually transformed into offices and later a bookstore. Today, little remains of the pool beyond subtle architectural hints, but its history lingers as a reminder that even familiar campus spaces can hold surprising past lives. You can read more in The University Record.
Swimmers and spectators gather around the pool for a swim meet
The Michigan Union pool was dedicated on Jan. 15, 1926, in a swim meet vs. the University of Wisconsin. (Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library)
ON THIS DAY
June 16, 1953 and 1962 - Baseball Wins Its First and Second National Championships
Michigan Baseball 1953 Team Photo

Michigan baseball 1962 team photo

Michigan defeated Stanford (4-0), Boston College (6-2), and took 2-of-3 from Texas (12-5, 4-6, 7-5) to claim its first national title. Michigan led 7-4 in the ninth inning, but starting pitcher Irv Wisniewski gave up a run on a triple and a double. Fisher brought in Jim Corbett, who walked two batters and got a ground out. With the bases loaded and one out, sophomore reliever Jack Ritter struck out Paul Mohr, a .388 hitter, and a ground out to first to save the win. Michigan also won its second national title nine years later, on this date in 1962, after defeating Santa Clara 5-4 in a fifteen-inning thriller.
HOW DO YOU GO BLUE?
Share your Maize & Blue pride! Send a unique photo in Michigan gear to MichiganInsider@umich.edu for a chance to be featured in Those Who Go Blue.
Michigan fan wearing a Michigan t-shirt and Block M bucket hat, laying in a hammock on a beach
Enjoying the summer sun in Maize & Blue style!