An interesting slice of Big Ten history. Those who read these pages know that it was legendary athletic direction Don Canham who hired Bo Schembechler in 1968.
Did you know Canham’s first choice was actually Joe Paterno who was just in his third season at Penn State? At the time of the U-M job search the ’68 Nittany Lions were undefeated and heading into a big Orange Bowl game against #6 Kansas. The successful season was getting a lot of eyeballs in the press so naturally Paterno’s name was getting around. But it turns out Canham already had a long relationship with JoePa from his track days.