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Video Shown on Stadium Screens
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Slippery Rock University rocked "The Big House" last Saturday as special guests of the University of Michigan.
Rock Head Football Coach
George Mihalik and Director of Athletics
Paul Lueken led a contingent of Rock representatives who received a warm reception from the capacity crowd of 112,276 fans packed into Michigan Stadium to watch the Wolverines take on nationally-ranked Wisconsin in Big Ten Conference action.
A video tribute to The Rock and its long-running relationship to UM was played on the huge video boards located at each end of the largest college football facility in the nation before The Rock's representatives were introduced and received a thunderous ovation.
Included in the on-field recognition where Mihalik, Lueken, 2010 Rock team co-captains
Brandon Fusco and
Aaron Nall, Rock Defensive Coordinator
Shawn Lutz, Defensive Backs Coach
Jason Makrinos and Rocky, the official mascot of SRU athletics.
The salute to SRU was the brainchild of UM Director of Athletics Dave Brandon, who has revived the tradition of announcing Rock football scores during Michigan home games. A special hooded sweatshirt with The Rock logo emblazoned in UM's Maize and Blue colors is also on sale through one of Michigan's licensed vendors.
Brandon has also initiated discussions about The Rock returning to The Big House to play a game, according to Lueken.
The Rock, under the guidance of SRU Athletic Hall of Famer Bob DiSpirito, met then-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division rival Shippensburg University in Ann Arbor Sept. 29, 1979 in a "Band Day" event set up by then-Michigan Athletic Director Don Canham. A crowd of 61,143 fans were on hand for that game. That attendance figure still ranks as the largest crowd to witness an NCAA Division II football game.
The idea of having Slippery Rock, "America's favorite small-college football team," playing in Michigan Stadium went over so well the first time Canham invited The Rock back for an encore performance two seasons later. The Rock, this time under the leadership of first-year head coach Fred Goldsmith, returned to The Big House Sept. 12, 1981 to face Wayne State of Michigan in a season-opening game that drew a crowd of over 35,000 fans, which also ranks among the top attendance totals in NCAA D-II football history.
