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It’s a rare feat to see an intercollegiate athletics program have both a solid football and basketball program.
Usually, a school is classified as a ‘football school’ or a ‘basketball school’ but sometimes an institution has both.
If you’re looking for a place that has exactly that, Ann Arbor is certainly a destination. Rivals.com put together a look at which programs have ‘the best of both worlds’ and Michigan came in ranked No. 4.
4. MICHIGAN
Football: 37-15: 71 percent
Basketball: 108-39: 73 percent
Average of both: 72 percent
Michigan is a basketball school? It’s close – and we’re only half-joking there – but the hoops team has won 2 percent more games over the last four years than the football team that’s so loved in Ann Arbor.
Over the last four seasons, Michigan’s football team has won 10 games twice but also had an 8-5 stumble. The basketball squad has developed into a national power with two seasons of 30 or more wins and a run to the national championship game.
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As writer Adam Gorney noted, the basketball program has has a little more success than football, but it was a long climb to that spot under former head coach John Beilein. When he arrived in Ann Arbor before the 2007-08 season, the Wolverines were more likely to make the NIT than the NCAA Tournament. By the time he left 11 seasons later, it was all but assured the team would make the second weekend of March Madness, if not further.
Football, however, had underwent similar doldrums just before Jim Harbaugh took over prior to the 2015 season. It missed a bowl game in 2014, but has also had to battle against clear top-tier program Ohio State, where basketball didn’t have to face a uniquely elite team — as good as MSU tends to be on a yearly basis.
Due to unprecedented success on the gridiron, however, other programs came in ahead of the Wolverines. Ohio State and Clemson tied for No. 1 — though both basketball programs have been a step behind Michigan, with Alabama coming in at No. 2. Kentucky, which has fielded a mediocre football program but elite basketball team, came in at No. 5 in Gorney’s rankings.
Big Ten foes Wisconsin and Penn State also made the top ten, coming in at No. 6 and 10, respectively.