The only school to leave and return to the Western Conference/Big Nine/Big Ten Conference is the University of Michigan. Read on to find out why University of Michigan Football Coach Fielding Yost urged Michigan’s Faculty Board in charge of Intercollegiate Athletics to withdraw from the Big Ten in 1907. While the University of Michigan may or may not have withdrawn at this time, the New York Times reported that the University of Michigan was expelled on April 13, 1907 for non-observance or rules, regarding limits on the number of games played each year, the number of years football team members were eligible (3), and possibly limits on the price of football tickets ($.50 at a time Michigan was charging up to $2 and $3).
The University of Michigan pursued its own way for ten years from 1908-1917, picking up new rivals such as Ohio State University, Notre Dame University, and the mighty Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University).
For the full article, see John U. Bacon, “Yost’s walkout”, Michigan Today, June 9, 2010.
Conference Ousts Michigan; Severs Relations With University for Non-Observance of Rules, New York Times, April 14, 1907.