Michigan Football officially welcomes Jim Harbaugh as their next head coach

It took 15 minutes for Don Canham to be sold on Bo Schembechler, resulting in Schembechler becoming the 15th coach in Michigan football history.At the time, Schembechler's current employer, the Miami RedHawks, could have thrown more money at Schembechler, but Canham managed to sell Schembechler on Michigan's tradition and prestige. Schembechler's respect for Michigan was evident early on when assistants complained about how the equipment they had was worse than what they had to work with at Miami. Schembechler gestured to a rusty chair and said, "See this chair? Fielding Yost sat in this chair. See this nail? Fielding Yost hung his hat on that nail. And you're telling me we had better stuff at Miami? No men, we didn't. We have tradition here, Michigan tradition, and that's something no one else has!" Schembechler immediately got to work in turning around his team. He had a reputation for being hard on his players, causing 65 of his 140 players to quit the team before the season even started. In response, Schembechler promised his team "Those Who Stay Will be Champions," assuring the players that remained that their efforts would be rewarded.

Schembechler's first team got off to a moderate start, losing to rival Michigan State and entering the Ohio State game with a 7–2 record. Ohio State, coached by icon Woody Hayes, entered the game at 8–0 and poised to repeat as national champions.The 1969 Ohio State team was hailed by some as being the "greatest college football team ever assembled" and came into the game favored by 17 points over Michigan. Michigan shocked the Buckeyes, winning 24–12, going to the Rose Bowl, and launching The Ten Year War between Hayes and Schembechler. From 1969 to 1978, one of either Ohio State or Michigan won at least a share of the Big Ten title and represented the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl every season.

In 1970 Schembechler failed to repeat on the magic of 1969, that year losing to Ohio State 20–9 and finishing at 9–1. However, in 1971, Schembechler led Michigan to an undefeated regular season, only to lose to the Stanford Indians in the Rose Bowl to finish at 11–1 and miss out on a chance at a national championship.From 1972 to 1975, Michigan failed to win a game against Ohio State (powered by phenom running back Archie Griffin), finishing at 10–1, 10–0–1, 10–1, and 8–2–2. However, Michigan did tie Ohio State in 1973, only missing out on the Rose Bowl due to a controversial vote that sent Ohio State to the Rose Bowl and left Michigan at home. Another notable event occurred during the 1975 season, with the first of Michigan's record streak of games with more than 100,000 people in attendance occurring during a game against the Purdue Boilermakers.

Rick Leach, who played quarterback for Michigan from 1975 through 1978. From 1976 to 1978, Michigan asserted its own dominance of the rivalry, beating Ohio State, going to the Rose Bowl, and posting a 10–2 record every year. After the 1978 season, Woody Hayes was fired for punching an opposing player during the 1978 Gator Bowl, thus ending The Ten Year War. Michigan had a slight edge in the war, with Schembechler going 5–4–1 against Hayes. However, while Schembechler successfully placed great emphasis on the rivalry, Michigan's bowl performances were sub-par. Michigan failed to win their last game of the season every year during The Ten Year War.The only year in which Michigan didn't lose its last game of the season was the 1973 tie against Ohio State.

After the end of the Ten Year War, Michigan's regular season performance declined, but their post season performance improved. The 1979 season included a memorable game against Indiana that ended with a touchdown pass from John Wangler to Anthony Carter with six seconds left in the game. The play was made famous by Bob Ufer's emotional radio narration: "Under center is Wangler at the 45, he goes back. He's looking for a receiver. He throws downfield to Carter. Carter has it. [unintellibible screaming] Carter scores. . . . I have never seen anything like this in all my 40 years of covering Michigan football. . . . I hope you can hear me – because I've never been so happy in all my cotton-picking 59 years! . . . Johnny Wangler to Anthony Carter will be heard until another 100 years of Michigan football is played! . . . Meeeshigan wins, 27 to 21. They aren't even going to try the extra point. Who cares? Who gives a damn?". Michigan went 8–4 on the season, losing to North Carolina in the 1979 Gator Bowl

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