The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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inside michigan athletics Michigan Pulls In High College Football Ratings Even though it wasn't the season Michigan and its fans envisioned, and even though U-M is just two years removed from a 7-6 campaign, the Wolverines proved they are still a big draw. According to SportsMediaWatch.com, which analyzed the television ratings for games shown on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, ESPN and ESPN2, Michigan attracted a consistent crowd during the 2012 campaign. The Maize and Blue started off with a bang when the highly anticipated matchup with Alabama drew a 4.8 rating and 7.9 million viewers Sept. 1, ranking first overall on the opening weekend, and crushing the 2.8 share and 4.3 million viewers to tune in to the Georgia Tech versus Virginia Tech ESPN Labor Day night game. Michigan played in the top-watched game the Sept. 22 weekend also, when it traveled to Notre Dame for a night game on NBC. That contest scored a 4.0 rating and was seen by 6.4 million viewers. Sharing the spotlight with two other teams (one other game) Sept. 8 and four other teams (two games) Oct. 13, Michigan, as part of regional coverage on ABC, helped draw a 3.3 rating when it played Air Force and a 3.1 rating when it played Illinois. The Maize and Blue wrapped up the regular season with their most viewed game of the year, and the fifth-most attractive contest across college football in 2012, when Michigan met Ohio State. U-M and OSU pulled down a 5.8 rating, being seen by 9.5 million viewers. michigan's TV Ratings For 2012 Season Weekend Date Opponent Rating Viewers Rank Sept. 1 Alabama 4.8 7.9 million No. 1 Sept. 8 Air Force* 3.3 4.7 million No. 1 Sept. 22 Notre Dame 4.0 6.4 million No. 1 Oct. 13 Illinois* 3.1 4.6 million No. 3 Oct. 27 Nebraska 1.2 2.0 million No. 7 Nov. 10 Northwestern 1.8 2.6 million No. 6 Nov. 17 Iowa 1.8 2.6 million No. 5 No. 24 Ohio State 5.8 9.5 million No. 2 Does not include games on Big Ten Network * Regional coverage College Football's Highest Rated Games In 2012 Date Dec. 1 Nov. 24 Nov. 3 Nov. 10 Nov. 24 Teams Rating Alabama vs. Georgia 9.8 Notre Dame vs. USC 9.4 Alabama vs. LSU 6.8 Alabama vs. Texas A&M 6.1 Michigan vs. Ohio State 5.8 14 the wolverine January 2013 Student-Athlete Of The Month Sophomore Cross Country Runner August Pappas Although August Pappas loves running, he has another true passion — and he wasn't about to give one up for the other when he went off to college. When Pappas, now a sophomore on the Michigan cross country team, was looking for colleges, he knew what he wanted: a strong cross country team and a worldclass music department. Pappas is a performance major in the Michigan School Of Music, Theatre And Dance, specializing in percussion and drums. He's been drumming since he can remember, and — unlike many incoming freshman who don't know what they want to be — Pappas was set on following a Pappas is a performance major in the Michigan School Of Music, musical path. Theatre And Dance, specializing "I love drumming, and in percussion and drums. there was never any question photo courtesy michigan athletic media relations about what I was majoring in," Pappas said. "I wasn't going to sacrifice one for the other, so I wanted a school where I could do both." Luckily, there was a school for him — and it was right down the road from his home in Chelsea, Mich. "Michigan was perfect," Pappas said. "I came here on a visit, and I got to spend time with the coaching staff and professors from the school of music. I knew it was the perfect fit." Pappas enrolled last year and got to work. Admittedly, his chosen path is a difficult one. Both cross country and drumming are very time-intensive fields, and juggling them can be a trick. "You have to really love both," Pappas said. "I train early in the morning, go to classes all day, and then I'm up late at night, practicing on my own. But I'm handling it well." Pappas earned Academic All-Big Ten honors this fall. Although Pappas is always busy, he loves the breadth of experience he gets in the music department. In percussion, teachers challenge students to expand their knowledge of experience, styles and instruments by encouraging them to take orchestral, world music and other types of classes. "I knew, when I came to Michigan, that I would learn a lot of different styles, but this has been great," Pappas said. "They push us to try all sorts of things, and it has really helped me improve as a performer." Although Pappas is in just his second year at Michigan, he's already looking toward the future. Eventually, he'd like to continue his studies at the master's level, where he can continue to hone his craft. But he'd also like to spend some time after graduation in a big city — perhaps Chicago or New York — where he can freelance as a philharmonic and orchestral musician. "I think that would be a lot of fun," he said. — Andy Reid