The Michigan team competing in front of the largest crowd this weekend won't be the football team.
The women's crew team will race Sunday in front of 250,000 people at the 32nd annual Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston. The Wolverines will be joined on the three-mile course by 4,500 rowers representing over 40 universities.
"(The Head of the Charles) is probably the most well known regatta in the country," Michigan coach Mark Rothstein said. "The (U.S.) national teams will be there as well as the top collegiate crews, so it's a very competitive race."
Despite the name, in a "head" race, boats do not race head-to-head. Instead, the start is staggered and boats race against the clock. The boat completing the course in the shortest amount of time is awarded the honorary title "Head of the Charles."
Even though the Head of the Charles is one of the most prestigious regattas of the year, the Wolverines are not focusing on this race. During the fall season, the team's focus is on improving and getting ready for the main season in the spring.
According to Rothstein, the purpose of the fall season is to prepare the team to be successful in the spring when titis competing in the Big Ten and for a berth in the national championships. Because Michigan will be facing many of the top crews in the country, Rothstein believes the race will be an important indicator of its progress to this point.
"Our goal right now is to keep improving," Rothstein said. "(The Head of the Charles) is a measuring stick of our progress."
Michigan, which will send only one boat to this weekend's race, will be competing only in the championship eight. Among the various classes of boats competing in the regatta, the championship eight is the most prestigious.
Michigan is coming off a strong showing two weeks ago at the Head of the Ohio Regatta in Pittsburgh. In the championship eight, the Wolverines finished a strong third, trailing only last year's national champion, Brown, and national power Cornell.
With the stiff competition at the Head of the Charles, however, Michigan is unlikely to finish as high this week.
"Given the level of competition, I'd be happy with a top-20 finish (out of 44 teams)," Rothstein said.
Meanwhile, the Michigan men's crew team will take on intra-state rivals Grand Valley State and Michigan State on Sunday at the Head of the Grand in Lansing.
Like the women's team, the focus of the fall season for the men is to improve and to get ready for their main season in the spring.
"The fall is an important time for guys to get better at rowing," men's coach Gregg Hartsuff said.
In terms of its effect on the team's success this season, Hartsuff described the race as "meaningless." As a competition against the only other collegiate crews in Michigan, however, the race takes on some importance.
"It's about state supremacy," third-year rower Bill Belknap said. "Any time Michigan faces Michigan State, it matters."
If practice is any indication, the Wolverines should fare well this weekend.
"It's been by far the best and smoothest fall we've had in my five years at Michigan," Hartsuff said..
Michigan will enter three eights in the Head of the Grand, and Hartsuff hopes that Michigan can sweep the top three spots.
"Our goal is to finish 1-2-3," Hartsuff said. "Whether we can do it, I don't know, but that's our goal."