Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Huskies to tangle with Wolverines

UConn announced Tuesday that it has finalized a two-game series with Michigan. The Huskies will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for a Sept. 4, 2010 game and the Wolverines will play at Rentschler Field on Sept. 21, 2013.

“We are very excited about having a football series with the University of Michigan,” UConn Director of Athletics Jeffrey Hathaway said in a statement. “This football series will provide two outstanding games for both programs and their respective fans. We are happy to bring this premier intersectional matchup to our dedicated football fans who fill Rentschler Field.”

This agreement, along with a previous deal with Tennessee, might end the hyped and controversial deal UConn sought with Notre Dame. The schools will face each other this season at Notre Dame, but with plans for six more games and the three UConn home games played at neutral sites, the school seemingly decided it was in its best interest to go in a different direction. There has been no official word on the status of that deal, but none of the schedule games with the Fighting Irish were mention in the release, which listed upcoming opponents.

Coach Randy Edsall said UConn doesn’t want to play more than three non-conference Bowl Championship Series eligible teams in one year.
“It is very exciting for our football program to have a series with Michigan,” Edsall said in the release. “We want to challenge our team by playing a strong non-conference schedule in addition to the Big East slate we face every year. Michigan is a nationally-prominent program and we are happy to have them on our future schedule.”

Next year’s game with Michigan forces the rescheduling of the Northeastern-UConn game to Oct. 9, 2010. It is also the rededication game of Michigan Stadium

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