The cool history behind the University of Michigans Big House – MLive.com

ANN ARBOR, MI - If you mention the Big House, any University of Michigan fan worth their maize and blue will know youre talking about their huge football stadium. But less than a century ago, that spot south of Ann Arbor was known as the Miller familys farm. It boasted barns, strawberry patches and a (troublesome) underground spring - not the artificial turf and block M that can be found on the site today.

Join MLives award-winning video team for a cool look back at The Big House - its history, its construction and all the upgrades and expansions it has seen throughout the years. And was there really some big piece of construction equipment left buried beneath the stadium after it was stuck in quicksand-like conditions during the build job? Tune in to find out.

For more on the history of the Big House, check out this timeline of the stadium. It spans the pre-construction era to some of the most recent improvements.

One tidbit we particularly enjoyed was the legend of Biff and Bennie:

In 1927, the year Michigan Stadium opened, the Detroit Zoo acquired 10 wolverines from Alaska. During that season, then-Michigan football coach and athletic director Fielding Yost worked out a deal with the zoo to have two of the wolverines transported to the stadium on football Saturdays.

The two wolverines, nicknamed Biff and Bennie, were paraded around Michigan Stadium in cages. That practice ended after a short time, however. As the story goes, Biff and Bennie grew larger and more ferocious, making it dangerous for them to be moved around near the public.

For more info on this seasons Wolverine sports, check out what our reporters are covering here.

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The cool history behind the University of Michigans Big House - MLive.com