The winningest college football program of all-time is getting some help from the most decorated Olympian in history this weekend.
Michael Phelps is returning to the University of Michigan on Saturday to serve as honorary captain for the football team’s top-10 showdown against Penn State.
Phelps, a 23-time Olympic gold medalist, didn’t swim for the Wolverines while studying and training in Ann Arbor for a four-year period under then-Michigan head coach Bob Bowman — his Speedo endorsement violated NCAA rules at the time — but he did serve as a volunteer assistant coach.
Phelps has continued to support the school since, recently speaking to the football team earlier this summer about conditioning and recovery.
“He talked about sleep, he talked about hydration, water,” eighth-year Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh said in August. “Somebody that could go anywhere in the world, do any kind of treatment known to mankind. Ice, sleep, and hydration with water. Our team has an ice bath waiting for them right now. They’ve got water, and then getting that sleep, those are the kind of things that they take care of themselves. They take care of the team doing that.”
“It was really cool to see what kind of athlete he is, for him to come and talk to us and give us insight about how he recovered his body, all the training he does and how he didn’t take any days off,” offensive lineman Zak Zinter said. “Just kind of taking his mindset into this week and getting ready to go for a top 10 opponent.”
The battle of undefeated Big Ten East powerhouses kicks off on Saturday at 12 p.m. EST on Fox.
arguably the best international athlete in history, go blue!!!
what is an international athlete?
We welcome the GOAT back to A2. I saw him swim the 1500 at a club meet at Canham at UM in late 2000s. His talent, focus, and work ethic inspired us! We’re a swim town even though the football team grabs a few more headlines. 😊
GO BLUE!
Respect the UofM support from Phelps.
Trust me, he owes them. They provided a lot to him even though he never attended class or paid a cent for pool time.
Why should we trust you?
because i told you to
The publicity he brings the school because of his stature is worth it to them. Once you win 28 Olympic medals I’m sure you’ll be asked to be an honorary captain somewhere. Then they’ll ask your advice on what makes a champion,
Yeah, because football fans are so passionate about swimming.
yes. but he berated little kids who dared to look at his shoes in the locker room and he left Club Wolverine with a debt he could have paid with pocket change even at that time. When he touched out Cavic in 2008 some kids on CW were unhappy he won. He was not kind to them. UM has also provided him with mental health help through the years. Everyone around him was good to him. He often did not reciprocate. I’m sure he has matured, but his actions after leaving AA showed he was immature for a long time.
Does Phelps have a degree from U. Michigan? Or just swam there with his coach.
He took some classes but didn’t finish. I don’t think Bowman swam there. 😉
I own Michael Phelps.
Dude took like 1 class there
Did he even take a class? (Not that i blame him if he didn’t)
i think he took some classes but never pursued a degree
I’m not entirely sure if he was pursuing a degree or not, but he did take some classes and he did not graduate.
He took a number of classes on and off over 4 years of attendance.
Do you have his transcript?
And it was How to Win 8 Gold Medals at the Olympics
WE ARE!