What Sports Would You Like to see Michigan Add?
With Stanford about to pass Michigan in the Directors' Cup because of Women's Water Polo, it made me think of a topic I frequently think about. What sports would you like Michigan to add? As of current Michigan has 26 varsity sports (27 with Women's Lacrosse), all of which participate in the NCAA. They are:
Men's Sports:
Baseball
Basketball
Cross Country
Football
Gymnastics
Golf
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Soccer
Swimming and Diving
Tennis
Track & Field
Wrestling
Women's Sports:
Basketball
Cross Country
Field Hockey
Golf
Gymnastics
Lacrosse (2013–14)
Rowing
Soccer
Softball
Swimming and Diving
Tennis
Track & Field
Volleyball
Water Polo
The NCAA sports that are sponsored that Michigan does not have are:
Men's Sports:
Water Polo
Volleyball
Women's Sports:
Bowling
Ice Hockey
CoEd:
Fencing
Skiing
Rifle
And a few non-NCAA Sports:
Pistol
Men's Rowing
Rugby
I am going to ignore the non-NCAA sports, as they do not seem practical and the expense could not potentially help Michigan in the Directors' Cup. I personally would love Michigan to add all of these sports, partially because Ohio State has nearly all of them, which bothers me greatly. However, realistically all of the sports could be added, but skiing may be dificult. If I had to choose a few, I would say add Women's Ice Hockey, Men's Volleyball, Bowling, and Fencing. However, that is just one man's opinion. So, MGoBloggers, what do you think Michigan should add next?
I played four varsity years in high school and it is one if the best sports.
It wasn't offered for guys at my HS, but that was the sport EVERYONE looked forward to playing in gym class, and we had the different class periods play each other in a HUGE/insanely intense tournament every semester. I wish they did offer it, because that shit was a lot of fun.
/CSB
I'd like to see Men's Volleyball. That's probably the only one that would interest me though. Michigan could even be very competitive in volleyball - they'd be able to snipe a lot of top recruits from the UC's and Stanford, similar to what they do w/ women's water polo, and they'd dominate East Coast recruiting.
But that'll never happen.
Michigan won't add any more sports in any forseeable future.
Additionally Michigan would have rivals in Ohio State and Penn State, both of whom have won a National Championship in recent years.
Yep. Certainly, we'd be competing with OSU and PSU for top recruits in the East/Mid-West, but I think we could be competitive with them very very quickly.
Ultimate Frisbee bro....ULTIMATE
one of the coolest sports to play... no doubt
It's the perfect sport for our egos.
but I mean REAL Water Polo like with players riding dolphins or muskellunge.
beer pong
Madden Football
call of duty: Black Ops 2
curling
Dodgeball
Think of all the TV contracts we could get:
whirlyball.
Also Ice Dancing...I believe we are the best in the world at that.
What the hell?! I live close to Toledo and now the closest whirlyball is in Ann Arbor!
Ohio State was able to win the National Championship in Fencing last year, so I have no doubt Michigan would be able to win as well.
Michigan did win the club national championship this year.
Your daughter is a fencer?
From the Department of Redundancy Department.
Agree, Fencing and Men’s Volleyball. Both could easily become UofM strengths. Volleyball they could clean up on eastern recruits, and Fencing there is already a strong draw to the state because of the programs built at Wayne State and Detroit area.
Slamball
Heard its on the rise
I still have nightmares about that movie. Worst ever.
How many NCAA sports are there total?
Women's bowling and co-ed fencing sound good to me!
Do NCAA rules mandate playing for keeps?
Quidditch
has NCAA championship written all over it.
That would be a difficult sport to enter. Recruiting is dominated by Alaska-Fairbanks and West Virginia, as those schools have won 25 of the 34 championships. However, I am sure with a good, well-known and well-respected coach that Michigan could emerge as a powerhouse.
with the number of hunters in this state, we would have a huge female base to draw from. put up recruiting posters in every government school and gun shop north of the zilwaukee bridge and i bet we field a heck of a team of lady shooters.
Sand volleyball
much further up the thread. That's as good of an option as any, but I'd love to see a womens hockey team for a few reasons, one of which is getting a structure up named for Berenson, and secondly growth in hockey is a good thing for hockey fans. Even if they don't watch or like the womens game, another D1 program would be good for the sport as a whole, IMO.
I was only half-serious about sand volleyball, but Nebraska has started a team, so why not Michigan? I'm sure Dave Brandon can find room somewhere on the athletic campus to squeeze in an indoor sand volleyball arena.
For those who don't know, sand volleyball is one of the NCAA's "emerging sports for women," along with rugby and equestrian, as explained here.
Uhh.... why is it necessary for any school to add women's rugby? How many high school girl rugby players are in the United States? Wouldn't you pretty much get a scholarship just by signing up? The more sports the better for the NCAA apparently... Why SHOULD Michigan add another sport should be the real question. To win some fanciful "Cup" no one really cares about?
Jai Alai.
curling
Michigan has a curling team. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Curling_USA
I must play against them.