with poll: University of Michigan uncovered: Playboy coming to Ann Arbor for 'Girls of the Big Ten' shoot

America's most recognizable mens magazine is touring Big Ten schools in search of coed models for an upcoming 'Girls of the Big Ten' pictorial.

Playboy photographers will descend on Ann Arbor in one week, on March 15 and 16, and select between two and four women from U-M to feature.

Crews also are visiting 11 other Big Ten schools, including Ohio State University, Michigan State University and Penn State University.

Playboy was last in Ann Arbor in 2008 for another Big Ten shoot.

"We do a different conference every year," said Playboy representative Courtney Hardin. The magazine has been running college-themed pages once a year for the past 36 years.

Playboy producer Eden Orfanos said the magazine has already "gotten a lot of really good buzz" about the Ann Arbor shoot. She expects roughly 40 women to audition.

That's 15 more than auditioned for the 2008 issue, according to an Ann Arbor News article from 2007. That year about 25 students attended the casting call.

Just three Wolverines were selected for the 10 "Big Ten" pages in 2008 —students using the pseudonyms Renee Alison, Bobbie Korina and Caitlin Shannon— and news reports suggest the trio quickly entered semi-celebridom in Ann Arbor, participating in several in media interviews and autograph signings.

Orfanos says she wants to capture U-M students in their natural environment.

"Maybe we will have her in a baseball cap or a hoodie," she said. "We want someone who represents the student body. We actually want to connect with the girls that are there and give them the opportunity to represent the school."

Playboy does not shoot on campus and usually has no contact with school officials during casting calls, Orfanos says.

"We function completely separately," she said.

Orfanos said a handful of girls featured in the college pictorials go on to do additional work with Playboy. In 2008 students from Penn State and Ohio State become Playboy playmates.

This year's "Big Ten" special is scheduled to run in the October issue, which hits news stands September 21.