Cowboys Classic: Michigan vs. Alabama (SOLD OUT)

Storied football powers the University of Alabama and the University of Michigan will open the 2012 college football season on Sept. 1, 2012 in the "Cowboys Stadium Classic" at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The prime time kickoff on either ESPN or CBS will mark the fourth time the schools have played each other, with the Wolverines leading the series 2-1.

The Alabama-Michigan contest will be the third time since 2008 that the Crimson Tide has opened the season at a neutral site in front of a prime time national television audience. Alabama opened the 2008 and 2009 seasons with victories against ACC opponents Clemson and Virginia Tech, respectively, in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta, Georgia.

The game will mark the fourth year of a five-year agreement between Cowboys Stadium and ESPN to bring a top college football game to North Texas during the Labor Day weekend to start the college football season. Each contest has featured nationally ranked teams with Brigham Young University upsetting the University of Oklahoma 14-13 in 2009, Texas Christian University knocking off Oregon State 30-21 in 2010 and Louisiana State University taking out the Oregon Ducks 40-27 in the 2011.

The 2012 contest between Alabama and Michigan will be the fourth-ever meeting between the two schools, and first since the 1999 season when Michigan claimed a 35-34 overtime win against Alabama in the Orange Bowl. It also marks the first meeting between the two schools during the regular season after all three previous matchups taking place in bowl games. This will also be the first appearance for both squads at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

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