On April 3, 2007, the University of Michigan announced that it had hired Beilein to fill its coaching vacancy. He replaced Tommy Amaker, who was fired after failing to reach the NCAA Tournament in his six seasons. Beilein inherited a Big Ten Conference team that was in the final year of a scholarship reduction due to the involvement of former players in the Ed Martin scandal, in which NCAA rules had been violated. The team struggled to a 10–22 (5–13) record during the 2007–08 season.