Oh, what a year.

What began with the Cowboys Classic on Sept. 1 ended a week ago, when the Michigan men’s basketball fell, 82-76, to Louisville in the national championship game in Atlanta.

The days and months in between offered some of the more spectacular seasons of Michigan athletics we’ve seen in a very, very long time. It was a fun year to watch, and it’ll be a fun one to remember.

Named after ESPN personality Adam Schefter, one of The Michigan Daily’s most esteemed alumni, these awards honor the best of Michigan athletics in the last year. Schefter worked as a Daily Sports Editor in the late 1980s and currently serves as ESPN’s NFL insider.

Without further ado, we offer you the 2013 Schefters.

Best Cinderella Story: Michigan volleyball team

Despite fielding only one senior on its roster, despite playing in the toughest conference in the NCAA and despite plummeting from the national rankings after a 4-7 start to conference play, the Michigan volleyball team endured.

On Dec. 13, the unranked Wolverines faced off against No. 3 Texas at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. The journey to that game, the program’s first Final Four appearance, though, was just about as unlikely as they come.

Michigan, disgruntled and disjointed, had slowed to a midseason crawl and had quickly fallen out of contention for the Big Ten title. But with more than a handful of ranked opponents lying ahead on the schedule, the Wolverines rallied. They had no other choice.

Michigan won 11 of its final 13 games to reach the Final Four, defeating No. 4 Nebraska, No. 10 Minnesota, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 9 Louisville and No. 2 Stanford along the way to set up a meeting with the third-ranked Longhorns.

A quick advantage in the Final Four evaporated, and Texas won in five sets to end Michigan’s season and surprise run. But returning an almost-identical lineup next year means this team shouldn’t be trying to fit into the glass slipper at all next year.

Breakout Athlete of the Year: Connor Jaeger, men’s swimming and diving

“I came to Michigan a nobody.”

Connor Jaeger, a junior from New Jersey, is never content. Unquestionably successful, yet unquestionably humble.

An unheralded sophomore a year ago, Jaeger took the swimming world by storm last summer. Jaeger qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team in the 1,500-meter freestyle and placed sixth in the event finals at the Olympics in London.

But that wasn’t the mountaintop for Jaeger, it was just a stop along the way. After a week to rest at home, it was back to the grind. Above the double doors in Canham Natatorium, he explained, there’s an inscription that spells out his motivation.

“It’s not every four years,” the banner reads. “It’s every day.”

Thanks in part to Jaeger’s success in the pool, the Michigan men’s swimming and diving team stayed atop the national rankings for much of the season and, on March 30, the Wolverines captured their 12th national title — their first since 1995.

Jaeger, a junior, captured two titles over the same weekend in Indianapolis, becoming the NCAA champion in the 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle.

He was a nobody, sure, but that all changed in a hurry.

Best single-event performance: Women’s track and field distance medley relay

Some records are meant to be broken. And some of those are meant to be broken by the same people, a week later.

In early March, the Michigan women’s track and field team’s distance medley relay team of seniors Rebecca Addison and senior Jillian Smith, fifth-year senior Amanda Eccleston and freshman Maya Long set a program record in the 4,000-meter relay, finishing with a time of 9:56.66.

A week later, they broke it again, setting the bar at 9:56.46, behind a strong push in the third and fourth legs by Smith and Eccleston.

And this time it was to secure a national championship, Michigan’s first title in the event since 1995. Each member of the distance medley relay team was named to the All-America first team.

Game of the Year: Men’s basketball — Michigan 87, Kansas 85 (OT)

This one won’t soon be forgotten.

The game — four-seed Michigan and one-seed Kansas in the Sweet Sixteen — encapsulated the beauty and improbability of the Big Dance.

Down by 14 with a handful of minutes left on the clock, Michigan star Trey Burke began to finally mount a comeback.