advice for taking an eldery family member to the Big House

Get situated early so you're not stuck in the rush to get into the gates or section. Rock on, I wish I had a salty 89 yr old grandpa still who wanted to go to football games. Have fun and post pics. That's awesome

You can probably arrange a golf cart ride from wherever you park if you call the athletic department ahead of time and get it arranged.

Call now and get handicapped seats. The ticket office is sooo wonderful about accomodating that. But with a busy game, you better do it soon. You can sit in metal chairs, much better than bleachers..

sometimes act miserably and are extremely rude, yet the younger people they chastise end up getting kicked out when it escalates.  

A colleague has a venerable mentor who wanted to see a game at the Big House - he is around the age mentioned by the OP. His wife who is also that age wanted to go.

1. Pre-planning - the seats: there have been some excellent suggestions - look for a good seat - either handicap access or if you can pull it off - one of the chair backsed seats. Much more comfortable and in those areas, the people around are more likely to sit and not stand making it easier to see. If you can't get these, you'll want something close to the aisle for easy in and out.

2. Pre-planning - parking, getting to the seats. Suggest dropping off as close as you can - try Main street before the road is closed. You need someone to help drive - you can accompany the guest, while the driver goes and park. Try to get the golf cart people to help you scoot to the seats - they can get in and out of secured areas and if you are getting to a higher level - they can get you right to the elevators.

3. Staying warm/prep - it will be cold, do you have a blanket? Dress in layers, any other things - breathers? oxygen? medications? Can they drink hot chocolate, hot coffee or do they have dietary limits? Bathroom access - above 65 years, many men have some degree of benign prostatic hypertrophy, so figure out the closest or easiest bathrooms to get to.

4. Sightlines - do they need binoculars? Can they hear? Plan on this.

5. Pre-planning - leaving the stadium . Do you plan on watching the whole game? In my case the guest and his wife by the end of the 3rd quarter had seen enough (Michigan was crushing Illinois) and decided to leave. We were able to send someone to get a car and coordinating with cell phones able to slide right to a gate close to Stadium and we got right into the car and away. If you are planning to stay to the end, you need an exist plan. You have to decided whether to try to get through the crowd or sit tight and wait about 30 minutes to let the crowd dissipate. Again, bringing the car to you maybe the ideal plan IF you can pull this off.

So, in brief.

1. Get seats that suit your guest

2. Pre-plan how to get to the stadium, set up the golf cart run. YOU CANNOT WING THIS.

3. Stay warm and healthy.

4. Figure out the bathrooms and food/drink situation - there are maps listing these on line at the UM athletic department.

5. Pre-plan how to get away from the stadium, Both 2 and 5 ideally you need two people.

GOOD LUCK! We made it without having to go to the ER and survived that trip.

My only advice is to arrive very early. I think this is a really cool idea though. I hope you and grandpa have an awesome time!!