Addition of Northern Illinois Completes 2005 Schedule
12/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- While the University of Michigan football team is preparing for its 19th Rose Bowl appearance, U-M athletics director Bill Martin was busy finalizing the 2005 football schedule. The Wolverines will open their 2005 season against Northern Illinois on Sept. 3 at Michigan Stadium. The addition of the Huskies now places six bowl teams on the Wolverines schedule for next year.
"We are getting a quality opponent to open the 2005 football season," said Martin. "Not only are we pleased to bring Northern Illinois into Michigan Stadium, I am also pleased that Jim Phillips (NIU's AD) worked closely with me to get their men's basketball team to Crisler Arena for a game against our team during the 2006-07 or 2007-08 season."
Northern Illinois, a member of the Mid-American Conference, will play Troy in the Silicon Valley Football Classic on Dec. 30 in San Jose, Calif. The Huskies will take an 8-3 overall record and a share of their third MAC West Division title in the last four years into the bowl game. NIU is seventh among others receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 and 10th among others receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25. During the last three seasons, the Huskies have compiled 8-4 (2002), 10-2 (2003), and 8-3 won-lost marks.
To help make way for the NIU game to be scheduled in 2005, Eastern Michigan University has agreed to move its game with U-M to Sept. 17. The Wolverines will play three non-conference games at home in 2005 before starting the Big Ten schedule with two straight games on the road.
The six bowl teams on U-M's 2005 schedule are Northern Illinois (Silicon Valley Classic), Notre Dame (Insight), Wisconsin (Outback), Minnesota (Music City), Iowa (Capital One) and Ohio State (Alamo). Purdue (Sun) of the Big Ten is also in a bowl this year but will not face Michigan in 2005.
2005 Michigan Football Schedule
| DATE | OPPONENT | SITE |
| Sept. 3 | Northern Illinois | Ann Arbor |
| Sept. 10 | Notre Dame | Ann Arbor |
| Sept. 17 | Eastern Michigan | Ann Arbor |
| Sept. 24 | at Wisconsin* | Madison, Wis. |
| Oct. 1 | at Michigan State* | East Lansing, Mich. |
| Oct. 8 | Minnesota* (Homecoming) | Ann Arbor |
| Oct. 15 | Penn State* | Ann Arbor |
| Oct. 22 | at Iowa* | Iowa City, Iowa |
| Oct. 29 | at Northwestern* | Evanston, Ill. |
| Nov. 12 | Indiana* | Ann Arbor |
| Nov. 19 | Ohio State* | Ann Arbor |
* Big Ten Conference games | ||
Contact: Bruce Madej (734) 763-4423
