Collections

Manages the University of Michigan's participation in intercollegiate athletic competition. Governed by the Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics and headed by the Athletic Director. Since 1973 has managed women's intercollegiate athletics. Sub-units include Sports Information, Athletic Director, Football Office and various administrative and support offices. The records, primarily from the Sports Information Office, include team rosters, press releases and news clipping scrapbooks, media guides, game programs, and team, individual, and game action photos for all varsity sports and game films of football and basketball. Other material includes scouting reports, 1938-1963, and administrative records from the football office, records of the NCAA baseball investigation, 1988-1990, and miscellaneous publications and promotional material.

The records of the University of Michigan Athletic Department document the participation of University of Michigan Athletic teams in intercollegiate competition, 1864 to the present. The records include media guides, game programs and other printed material; press releases; team and individual statistics; photographs, films and videotapes; development and Fund-raising material, and a variety of accounts, audits and other administrative The records are organized into several sub-groups based on the administrative structure of the department. The subgroups are: Sports Information Office, Football Office, Athletic Director's Office, Development Office, Ticket Office and Business Office. The Sports Information Office sub-group constitutes by far the largest portion of the Athletic Department records and includes series for each of the varsity sports.

Staff photographer for University of Michigan News and Information Services and contract photographer for the University of Michigan Athletic Department. Includes negatives and contact prints of game action photos of UM athletic competitions, 1978-2000 and some personal and family photos.

The Robert Kalmbach photograph collection consists primarily of 35mm negatives and contact sheets of University of Michigan athletic competitions and represents his work as a contract photographer for the Athletic department. He shot nearly every home football game between 1969 and 1998 and generally traveled to Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State away games,. He also photographed most men's home basketball and hockey game games and several games or matches each season for other sports. His photos include some to the classic images of Michigan athletics and have been widely published in Athletic Department Media Guides, game programs and other publications.

The photos are primarily black and white, though after the mid 1980s the football photos frequently include one or more rolls of color shots. the photos are arranged by sport and thereunder chronologically by year and event. For each event the negatives have been placed in protective sleeves with matching contact sheets based on roll numbers assigned by Kalmbach. For football games (and occasionally other games) with multiple rolls, the numbering system does not always correspond to the actual sequence of the game. Some of the sports photos are identified as being taken by John Heafield, another News and Information Service photographer who occasionally worked with Kalmbach. The athletic photos are organized by sport and thereunder chronologically.

The collection also includes a small number of slides and transparencies of athletic events.