A lot happened in 2019 across Michigan Athletics. From the baseball team nearly winning the College World Series, to John Beilein's departure and Juwan Howard's arrival, there has been a lot to talk about.
Let's look back at some of the top storylines from the year that was.
Josh Gattis Hired As Offensive Coordinator
Following a 2018 campaign in which U-M finished 10-3, U-M made a change at offensive coordinator. It was believed that head coach Jim Harbaugh and passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton collaborated to call the plays in 2018. In 2019, it would be a different approach.
Gattis was the co-offensive coordinator at Alabama in 2018, and helped the Tide advance to the National Championship Game. It looked like Gattis would be headed to Maryland to serve as the sole offensive coordinator under Michael Locksley, who had left Alabama for the Terrapins’ head coaching position. Just before that deal was made, Harbaugh snatched up Gattis to make him the play caller.
In early February, Hamilton moved on from U-M, and is now the head coach and general manager of the XFL's DC Defenders.
Story: Michigan Hires Alabama’s Josh Gattis As Its Offensive Coordinator
Basketball Achieves Best Start In Program History
Following up a National Championship Game appearance in 2017-18, John Beilein’s Wolverines started the 2018-19 season 17-0 with wins over Villanova, Providence, North Carolina, Purdue and Indiana, among others. U-M was ranked No. 2 in the nation when it headed into Madison to face Wisconsin on Jan. 19. The Wolverines fell, 64-54.
The 17-0 start was the best beginning to a season in U-M history. Previously, the 1985-86 team and 2012-13 teams had started 16-0 before losing.
Story: Beilein Discusses 17-0, The Incredible Development Of Teske And Simpson
Women's Basketball Makes Second Straight NCAA Tournament
Head coach Kim Barnes Arico got her team into its second straight NCAA Tournament. Before 2018, U-M hadn't made the NCAA Tournament since 2013. The Wolverines advanced to the second round with a win over Kansas State in the first round, before losing to Louisville. The Wolverines finished with a 22-12 record on the season.
Basketball Makes Fifth Sweet 16 In Seven Seasons
In what would be Beilein's last season at the helm of U-M basketball, the team advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year, and made its fifth appearance in the last seven seasons. Beilein's group finished the season with a 30-7 record, and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game. The Wolverines' season ended with a loss to Texas Tech in the West Regional Semifinal in Anaheim, CA.
U-M's seven year run from 2013-2019 included two National Championship game appearances, three Elite Eight appearances, five Sweet 16 appearances, two Big Ten Tournament championships and one Big Ten regular season title.
Beilein Receives Wooden Keys To Life Award
The award is given to a "member of the college or professional basketball community that lives out qualities exemplified by Coach Wooden; outstanding character, integrity, and leadership on the court, in the work place, in the home, and in the community."
Former Michigan basketball player Austin Hatch introduced Beilein at the event before he received the award. Hatch is the perfect person to speak to Beilein's character. The coach honored Hatch's scholarship after injuries that resulted from two plane crashes in which multiple family members passed away.
“What he does is not as important as how he does it,” Hatch said in his speech. “Independent of the great records we’ve had or the championships we’ve won, I’d like to talk about why Michigan is such a special place. It all starts with the leadership of Coach Beilein.”
Story: Video And More: Hatch Presents Beilein With Lifetime Award
Football Takes Trip To South Africa
U-M has taken annual trips now in three straight years during the offseason. In 2017, the Wolverines traveled to Rome. It was Paris and Normandy in 2018 and the team went to South Africa in 2019. U-M saw all kinds of different sights on this year's trip in early May, including a safari and a tour of Cape Town.
John Beilein Departs For Cleveland
Beilein finished his tenure at U-M as the winningest coach in program history with a 278-150 record over 12 years. He made two National Championship game appearances, won two Big Ten regular season titles and two Big Ten Tournament titles.
Beilein shocked the Michigan and college basketball worlds by leaving the Wolverines for the NBA on May 13.
Story: John Beilein To Leave Michigan For The Cleveland Cavaliers
Juwan Howard Returns To Michigan
Juwan Howard played three seasons as a part of the ‘Fab Five’ from 1991-1994 and came back in 2019, this time as the head coach, to replace Beilein. U-M was shocked by Beilein’s departure, and had numerous candidates in mind before settling on Howard.
Howard was an NBA assistant (after playing 19 years in the league) had been a candidate for numerous NBA head coaching jobs. There was only one college job he would ever consider, and that happened to be the one he ended up taking in April.
Story: Howard To U-M On A Five-Year Deal
Story: Inside The Numbers: Juwan Howard Is Worth The Risk
Baseball Goes On Magical Run To Omaha
Eric Bakich's U-M baseball team fell just short of winning the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha. Little did many know, the Wolverines would return back just weeks later. After winning the NCAA Regional in Corvallis, OR, and then defeating UCLA in the Super Regional in Los Angeles, U-M earned its first berth into the College World Series since 1984. The Wolverines then won three-straight games in Omaha — over Texas Tech (twice) and Florida State — to advance to the CWS finals against Vanderbilt. U-M won game one, 7-4. However, the Wolverines fell in the last two games, falling just short of a national championship. Either way, it was a magical run by Bakich's group. The Wolverines were a game shy of being the first Big Ten team to win the national championship since Ohio State did it in 1966.
Story: Team 153 Established The Culture Bakich Envisioned
Story: Wolverines Loose Heading Into Last Game - ‘Only Fitting’
Football Picked To Win The Big Ten
With a lot of key pieces returning for U-M in 2019, the media picked the Wolverines to win the Big Ten in the Cleveland.com annual poll. Ohio State, the returning champions, was picked to finish behind U-M in the East division due to question marks it had, as disgraced head coach Urban Meyer was no longer at the helm, and with the early entry of quarterback Dwayne Haskins to the NFL Draft. Obviously, the Buckeyes answered a lot of the questions that surrounded them coming into the year.
"That's where I would pick us," Jim Harbaugh said at July's Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.
Story: Michigan Picked To Win Big Ten In Annual Preseason Poll
The Wisconsin Debacle
U-M lost 35-14 to Wisconsin on Sep. 21. The game was much more of a disaster than even the scoreboard showed. U-M was down 28-0 at halftime and 35-0 mid-way through the third quarter. The Wolverines didn't show up that day in Madison. They allowed Badgers' running back Jonathan Taylor to gain 203 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
The fallout from the loss was a low point in the Harbaugh era at U-M. But. the Wolverines were able to bounce back, winning three straight after that and seven out of eight.
Sad Ending In Happy Valley
Harbaugh's group had a chance to pick up a marquee win and to keep its playoff and Big Ten championship hopes alive when it traveled to Happy Valley to take on Penn State on Oct. 19. U-M fell down 21-0 before clawing back and having a chance to tie the game at the end. A Shea Patterson pass was dropped in the end zone on fourth down by sophomore wide receiver Ronnie Bell. It was not to be.
Despite the loss, U-M won many over by its resolve and grit in fighting back from the deficit. After that loss, the Wolverines offense really started to hit a groove, and the team won four straight games.
Harbaugh Shoots Down NFL Rumors
Another year, another bogus rumor saying Harbaugh is considering going back to the NFL. Of course his name comes up when there are vacancies in the league due to his success at every level, but the rumors are often started by U-M's "enemies." Harbaugh quickly shot down the rumor by sending a letter to families of players and recruiting, calling the report "total crap."
Blowout Wins Over Rivals Notre Dame And Michigan State
After the Penn State loss, many thought the U-M team would fold. They were wrong. It looked like a weight had been lifted off the Wolverines' shoulders, where they could play with no pressure of expectation.
U-M bounced back with a 45-14 blowout win over Notre Dame in a monsoon. U-M ran the ball for 303 yards in the pouring rain, physically and mentally dominating Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish.
Two weeks later, it was Michigan State's turn to take its beating in the Big House. Spartans' head coach Mark Dantonio was the victim of this one, as Harbaugh and his group didn't let up. The Wolverines stepped on the throat of Dantonio's crew with a late score to win 44-10. U-M now has two-straight wins over Michigan State, and is winners of three out of the last four meetings. Safe to say things have been "put back into proper perspective," in that rivalry, as Bo Schembechler used to say.
Story: Harbaugh Says Confidence Reached A New High
Juwan Howard Wins First Championship
Michigan basketball felt underrated heading into the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving. The Wolverines were undefeated coming in, and left Paradise Island still unbeaten. U-M ran through Iowa State, North Carolina and Gonzaga to win the tournament. Those wins propelled U-M up to No. 4 in the next AP Poll. All indications would point toward more titles coming Howard and U-M's direction.
Story: Fab Five: Thoughts & Takeaways From The Championship Win Over Gonzaga
Story: Juwan Howard Is Pushing All The Right Buttons Early In His Tenure
Another Tough Loss To Ohio State
The Buckeyes were the favorites coming in, and they played like it. U-M however, didn't play mistake-free football, not giving itself much of a chance to knock off the top-ranked OSU team. Head coach Ryan Day got the win in his first meeting with the Wolverines as the Buckeyes' head man. The Buckeyes have now won eight straight games over U-M after the 56-29 blowout.
Isaiah Todd And Hunter Dickinson Go Blue
Howard started his tenure off nicely on the recruiting trail, with his first big victory being the signing of now freshman guard Franz Wagner. Howard was also able to keep 2020 four-star point guard Zeb Jackson in the fold. Jackson signed in November.
Howard shifted his focus on finding other talent for the 2020 class, and was successful. He was able to earn a commitment from five-star big man Isaiah Todd, the No. 10 player in the country, according to Rivals. Todd did not sign in the early signing period, and it remains to be seen if he will join U-M next year or play overseas. A big splash, nonetheless. The next domino to fall was another big man, Hunter Dickinson. Dickinson is rated as the No. 38 player in the class. He stands at 7-foot-1, and will be another force to be reckoned with down low.
Harbaugh And Saban Will Face Off To Start The New Year
While the actual game will take place on the first day of 2020, the lead-up to the game is taking place in 2019. A week after losing to Ohio State, U-M found out its bowl game destination. It originally looked like the Wolverines would head to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, but U-M pushed for a Citrus Bowl appearance against a much better opponent. A much better opponent is what it got in No. 13 Alabama.
Harbaugh and Saban have a little bit of history taking jabs at each other. After Saban insinuated that NCAA rules may be broken during Harbaugh's satellite camps in 2017, Harbaugh fired one back over Saban's bow in a Tweet.
Hopefully, the Citrus Bowl will be a truly "amazing" game, but that's for 2020 to worry about.
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