The 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl, part of the 1987 bowl game season, took place on January 2, 1988, at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference (Big 10). In what was the first ever meeting between the schools, Michigan was victorious by a final score of 28–24.

The 1987 Alabama squad finished the regular season with losses to Florida, Memphis State, Notre Dame and Auburn to compile a 7–4 record. Following their loss against Auburn in the Iron Bowl, the Crimson Tide accepted an invitation to play in the Hall of Fame Bowl. The appearance marked the first for Alabama in the Hall of Fame Bowl, and their 40th overall bowl game.

The 1987 Michigan squad finished the regular season with losses to Notre Dame, Michigan State, Indiana and Ohio State to finish with a record of 7–4. Their appearance marked the first for Michigan in the Hall of Fame Bowl, and their 19th overall bowl game. In mid December 1987, head coach Bo Schembechler underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery and was unable to coach in the bowl game. Due to this circumstance, Gary Moeller was given the coaching responsibilities for the game.

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