Rich Robell, 50, said he was shocked when his son, Mike, received his room assignment at Emmons Hall, B310, the same room he moved into as a freshman in 1978, The Detroit News reported Monday.

Tim Knight, housing operations complex manager for Brody and West Circle complexes at the school, said many students request the dorm rooms that their parents once occupied, but it is highly unusual for a student to wind up in the same room as a parent strictly by luck of the draw.

"After 37 years as a full-time employee ... this is the first time that I'm aware of that someone was simply offered the space. It really is an incredible coincidence," Knight said.