[3] Babich decided to play for coach Bo Schembechler at Miami (Ohio).
A two-time unanimous all-Mid-American Conference linebacker, he was also voted the "Defensive Player of the Year" in the MAC as he captained the 1968 team.
Babich was selected First-team All-America by the American Football Coaches Association, The Sporting News and Time magazine.
On September 6, 1973, he was traded to the Cleveland Browns for a first-round draft choice in 1974 and a second-round pick in 1975.
[4] His 1994 election to the College Football Hall of Fame made him the first Miami (Ohio) player to be enshrined.