SLIPPERY ROCK — The Green and White is getting ready to experience a little blue.

As in Big Blue.

Thanks to the University of Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon, SRU’s football team will take on Mercyhurst in the 109,901-seat Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Oct. 18, 2014.

“Dave Brandon made this happen,” SRU coach George Mihalik said. “He deserves the credit for this.”

Brandon played for Michigan under legendary coach Bo Schembechler before graduating in 1974. At that time, the score of the SRU game would always be the last score announced over the public address system during Michigan home games.

“Back in the ’70s, they used to run all of the final scores on the screen during televised college games,” Mihalik said. “The Slippery Rock score used to be shown last.

“While they only run scores of Top 25 games on TV now, Michigan never stopped announcing our score. We’ve been their second favorite team for years.”

Announcing the Slippery Rock score goes back to 1959, when the Michigan announcer decided to enliven an otherwise boring game by announcing the score from the funny-sounding school in Western Pennsylvania. His attempt at humor succeeded that day, but it also started a tradition of announcing the SRU score at all Michigan home games.

Michigan’s stadium has the largest seating capacity of any football facility in the country. Its crowds have topped 115,000.

“Slippery Rock has a special place in the hearts of our fans,” Brandon said in a statement. “We have embraced this relationship for decades and thought now would be the appropriate time to entertain another game at Michigan Stadium.

“We look forward to making this an entertaining day for the fans of both schools and our Michigan fans who wish to attend this event.”

The Michigan athletic department is reinstituting Band Day for this game, inviting high school bands from across Michigan to perform at the SRU-Mercyhurst contest.

This will be The Rock’s third game at the “Big House.” Its 1979 game against Shippensburg drew a still-standing NCAA Division II record crowd of 61,143. SRU played Wayne State in Michigan at Michigan Stadium in 1981 and drew about 50,000.

“I’ve been working on this since I got here (1994), as soon as I learned we’ve played there before,” SRU athletic director Paul Lueken said. “We’ve come close to getting it done a couple of times before, but some snag would come up or they (Michigan) would have a change in administration.

“Dave Brandon, being a Michigan graduate, has been working on bringing back some of the old traditions there. He was committed to making this work.”

The Rock almost played at Michigan this year, “but the Big Ten expanded and their open date got changed,” Lueken said.

Mihalik was an assistant coach for The Rock at the 1979 and 1981 games.

“They are vivid memories of mine,” Mihalik said. “The atmosphere and the experience were incredible.

“Our hope is to break that 1979 record — with the help of Michigan’s fans,” Mihalik added.

The Michigan football team does not play that day. Mercyhurst was scheduled to be a home game for SRU at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

“Our best bet to break the record was to play up there on a day Michigan wasn’t playing anywhere,” Mihalik said. “We’ll gladly give up a home game for an opportunity like this.

“We’re hoping that all alumni of our university will try to be a part of that crowd. Anyone who wants to be a Rock football fan that day is fine with us.”

Michigan football season ticket holders can buy general admission tickets for $10 during the season ticket renewal period in the spring. Nonseason ticket holders can buy tickets for $20 in the spring. Student tickets will be free.

Slippery Rock and Mercyhurst will announce their ticket sale plans once they are finalized.

“We still have to work on travel arrangements and other details, but we want to fill the Big House,” Lueken said. “That’s the goal.”

The Mercyhurst game was scheduled to be SRU’s homecoming next season. Homecoming events along with other campus activities had to be altered to make the football team trip to Michigan possible.

“Our fall break was adjusted, we had to change homecoming ... my appreciation to the academic folks, student leadership and alumni for their part in making this happen,” Lueken said.