"Game Day" Coming to Ann Arbor for Night Game, Desmond to be Honored

This bus is comin'...to your citaaaay!

The mothership has Ann Arbor in it's sights...and they're bringing their circus to town.

Pardon the copy/paste...but there's not much I can add to this other than it's going to be like adding even more gasoline to the fire that is the hype for the Notre Dame night game on September 10th. I love that Desmond is going to be honored, and I can only assume whatever is planned, it will be everything but retiring his number.

Via UM media relations:

ESPN College Game Day Coming to Ann Arbor for “Under the Lights” Match-up with Notre Dame
BRISTOL, Conn. – ESPN College Football Game Day will make a return trip to Ann Arbor for the first time since the 2007 season as Michigan hosts Notre Dame in the “Under the Lights” matchup Saturday, Sept. 10, the cable network announced today (Aug. 5). The U-M-Notre Dame game kicks off at 8 p.m. EDT and will be televised on ESPN. Former U-M Heisman Trophy winner (1991) and current ESPN College Football Game Day analyst, Desmond Howard, will be honored in conjunction with the game.

The Wolverines, who are 13-7 all-time when Game Day is present, will be making their first appearance on the morning preview show since hosting Ohio State on Nov. 17, 2007. This also will be the 10th time Game Day visits Ann Arbor, as U-M is 7-2 at the "Big House." The Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry has been showcased four other times by ESPN, including twice in Ann Arbor. The last time ESPN was at a Wolverine-Fighting Irish tilt was on Sept. 13, 2003, as No. 5 Michigan defeated No. 15 Notre Dame 38-0.

Howard, a 1991 consensus All-American, was recently inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as the only Heisman Trophy winner in the 14-member class. He became the first receiver in history to lead the Big Ten Conference in scoring and he set or tied five NCAA records and 12 single-season Michigan records during his senior year.

The exact location of the award winning college football show will be announced at a future date.

ESPN GameDay at Michigan Football Games

13-7 All-Time Record

Date                    Rank      Opponent                   Site      Result

Sept. 10, 1994 6/3         Notre Dame               A           W, 26-24

Oct. 15, 1994    5/3         Penn State                  H           L, 24-31

Sept. 14, 1996 11/5       Colorado                      A           W, 20-13

Sept. 13, 1997 14/8       Colorado                      H           W, 27-3

Oct. 25, 1997    5/15       Michigan State          A           W, 23-7

Nov. 8, 1997     4/3         Penn State                  A           W, 34-8

Nov. 22, 1997   1/4         Ohio State                   H           W, 20-14

Jan. 1, 1998       1/8         Washington State    N           W, 21-16

Sept. 5, 1998    5/22       Notre Dame               A           L, 20-36

Sept. 4, 1999    7/16       Notre Dame               H           W, 26-22

Sept. 25, 1999 4/20       Wisconsin                    A           W, 21-16

Oct. 9, 1999       3/11       Michigan State          A           L, 31-34

Sept. 30, 2000 9/17       Wisconsin                    H           W, 13-10

Aug. 31, 2002   13/11     Washington                H           W, 31-29

Nov. 23, 2002   12/2       Ohio State                   A           L, 9-14

Sept. 13, 2003 5/15       Notre Dame               H           W, 38-0

Nov. 22, 2003   5/4         Ohio State                   H           W, 35-21

Jan. 1, 2004       4/1         Southern California N           L, 14-28

Nov. 18, 2006   2/1         Ohio State                   A           L, 39-42

Nov. 17, 2007   23/7       Ohio State                   H           L, 3-14

Desmond Howard on the Announcement that Game Day is Coming to Ann Arbor for the first-ever night game against Notre Dame on Sept. 10. The athletic department will be honoring Howard for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

About bring game day back to Ann Arbor … “This is exciting to be able to have game day at Michigan’s first night game. This is what a lot of people have been hoping for. It’s historic and the only thing that would have been better for me was if I was playing in this first night game. This is going to be as exciting as it gets during the regular season.”

How special is having game day back on campus the day you are being honored? … “Ann Arbor is a place that will always be special to my heart. To be able to bring the game day crew to broadcast from the Big House is tremendous for me and it’s special to be able to share this moment with a lot of people that have been a part of my tenure while at the University of Michigan.”

How will your colleagues at game day react to the announcement that game day is coming to Ann Arbor the day you are being honored? … “I don’t think people understand but the people that I work with on game day, both in front of the camera and behind the camera, are all family. We are all supportive of each other. I don’t think they could be any happier for me and more supportive of this broadcast in Ann Arbor. They are going to be elated that we are in Ann Arbor for the night game and for the day in which I get honored by the University. We are a very close knit group and they have been so supportive of me and each other. It’s special. This is going to be a special day and this just made it even more special.”

How has your family reacted to the announcement that game day will be in Ann Arbor? … “(Laughing) They don’t know yet. They are going to be ecstatic. It doesn’t get any better than this to go back to Ann Arbor and do a live broadcast at one of the biggest games of the season. Obviously it’s a historic game at a historic venue. They are going to be beyond themselves.”

What do you think this day will be like for you? … “This is going to be one of those days when I will need to constantly try and keep my emotions in check. It’s one of those type of experiences because of everything that has been going on so far, the hall of fame induction and the book is coming out. Being honored by the athletic department that day is special. It’s almost like surreal that we are going to be there doing a broadcast so I need to really keep my emotions in check. I’m excited about it right now.”