Before this semester began, students scoured through their course guides to choose from the more than 1,000 classes offered at the University.
As always, many students with later registration dates found waitlists rather than open seats in the classes they wanted to take.
Though sitting eleventh on a waitlist probably wouldn’t faze most students, what about being eighty-ninth?
According to the Registrar’s Office, the History of College Athletics, offered by the American Culture department, has the longest waitlist this semester, once boasting a total of 89 students.
That means 89 of the 150 students in the class would need to drop the class to allow everyone on the waitlist to join.
It begs the question: what’s so special about the class?
According to the course description, students in the class will take a close look at why college athletics are “a quintessential part of American culture,” and why America is the only country to take collegiate sports so seriously.
It also explores how the idea of college athletics developed and women and African-Americans’ influence on the multi-billion dollar industry.
But beyond the subject matter, many students might be enticed by the popularity of the professor. The class, first offered at the University in the fall of 2006, is taught by campus favorite Prof. John Bacon.
Bacon also teaches a course called The Rise and Fall of the American Sportswriter. That class has a lengthy waitlist of its own, with a total of 51 students.
Bacon has also made a strong name for himself in the literary world. Along with contributing pieces to TIME, Sports Illustrated, and various publications, Bacon has authored five books.
Bacon’s latest book, Bo’s Lasting Lessons, was a New York Times and Wall Street Journaal bestseller. He wrote the book with legendary Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler before he passed away in 2006.