Michigan's game in Germany won't be the first time the Wolverines played outside of the United States

News broke on Saturday that Michigan was "engaged in ongoing discussions to kick off the 2026 season on foreign soil, playing host to Western Michigan at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany, on Saturday, Aug. 29. This non-conference matchup would become the first game played by the Wolverines outside of North America."

It would make the first time that the Wolverines traveled to a different continent to play a football game, but it wouldn't be the first time Michigan traveled out of the United States to play a game.

You have to travel way in the past to find the last time the Wolverines played a game not in North America -- but it happened. The Michigan football program was established back in 1879, and one year later, in 1880, Michigan traveled to Canada to take on the University of Toronto.

According to 'The Chronicle' on the Bentley Historical Library, behind captain John Chase -- there was no head coach -- the Wolverines would go on to beat Toronto, 13-6. It was the only game the Wolverines would play that season, and they would finish with a 1-0 record. The University of Toronto came to Ann Arbor the year prior to play, and Michigan beat it in '79 as well.

"In 1881, a long-cherished student dream came to pass. Michigan traveled east to play against the big three: Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. The 14-man Wolverine squad played three games in five days. They lost all three, but played well enough to show that western football — and Michigan football — was on the rise."

Michigan football 1880 — Bentley Historical Library

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