Yeah I've Got To: Conference Alignment

So you're sitting at home, reading sports news, you see all these schools desperate to join all these conference, but you don't see the Big Ten mentioned at all. Instantly, you panic. What the hell is going on? Why are we sitting back and doing nothing? Why aren't we going after these schools?

Well, do we really need to?

From a Big Ten and Michigan standpoint, not really:

The Big Ten has the three most popular teams in college football, so they can afford to wait as far as conference realignment goes. It doesn't make sense for them to go after schools left and right, when they already have a good base. Everyone says to go after Notre Dame and Texas, but if you're going to expand, it's going to be an even number of schools. Additionally, it's going to lead to more of a split if you do bring in more schools in terms of TV revenue. I don't think it makes sense for Notre Dame or Texas to come to the Big Ten at the moment, nor does it make sense for us to take them on.

If you really do want to expand, it's all about strategy. The crown jewel of college sports, despite the fact that it's not as big a college football market as one thinks is New York. Everyone wants into New York. So what about New York?

The Big Ten already has 3 of the top 10 most popular teams in New York. I really think they'll only benefit if they bring in a Notre Dame or a Rutgers if they want to expand. Rutgers might not be worth it because the increase in subscriptions might be offset by the fact that there is another mouth to feed. Notre Dame really is the only one that makes sense from a competitive and financial perspective. The problem is that they won't want to come to the Big Ten if they come in because of their current deal with NBC.

They're not Michigan, they're not Ohio State, and they're not Penn State.

I don't think I want the Big Ten to expand otherwise. Brian Bennett of ESPN spells it out. It doesn't make sense for the Big Ten to take on Missouri or Kansas for the sake of expansion. They don't bring anything to the table in terms of competition or financial benefits, but they're AAU schools which fit in if there is expansion.

Honestly, the Big Ten is in good shape. They got a good school in Nebraska that actually brings something to the table. They might miss out on Texas and Notre Dame, but neither schools would want to fit into the Big Ten when you look at the Big Ten Network. With all the expansion, everyone wants the Big Ten to get in on it too, but I believe staying true and keeping things the way they are might be the best thing to do.

Right now, the Big Ten has a great TV deal and a great network that does well to give exposure to all the schools. They already have some great brand names under their moniker. There is no need to try and bring more mouths under their roof at the moment. Even with all of this expansion, the Big Ten will continue to thrive in its current state.

Paul Bunyan Is Getting Homesick

Another David Brandon Mistake

Scoreboard Photos:

Michigan fans attending home football games during the 2010 season will have the opportunity to have their pictures on the Michigan Stadium videoboards.

This is just going to make it more prominent for sorority girl bitches, who go to the games to have a good time rather than to will the team to victory, an excuse to emasculate the sanctity of Michigan Stadium.

Get Inspired: Quit Smoking

It may be too quick to push another "Get Inspired" post, but let's start this thing on the run.

This is about how the new smoke free rules on campus inspired one woman to quit smoking. While smoking provides a relief to many, the health hazards involved with smoking are obvious. It is not just about quitting smoking because of the new rules at the U, but also better your health.

Bobbie Young works in HR at The U. She's probably been smoking for longer than many of you have been alive. But she quit for her kids:

“I needed to quit for health reasons. I wanted to quit for my two sons. I got that (e-mail) in December and the program started in January so I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. I just hopped onboard,” Young says.

Young has tried to quit before and she understands that it's a tough thing to do:

“I knew I could quit. It was just a matter of getting back into a group kind of situation. There’s something about being part of the group for me personally that makes it, I don’t want to say easier to quit, but more meaningful. It’s like you’ve made a commitment to others outside of yourself to try and do the best you can,” Young says.

So I implore you to stop smoking and I hope this story helps you to get there. Remember, you're not the only one facing this challenge. Good luck and if you need someone to talk to about quitting, I'm always around.

Get Inspired: JFK

I'm going to start a new series of posts called "Get Inspired" which will feature posts about things that inspire/d me. This one is a preview video for The U's celebrating of the 50th anniversary of JFK's introduction of the Peace Corps on the steps of the Michigan Union.

Shep Salutes Jack Johnson

Guy is working hard to get his degree from the U:

Each summer, the fourth-year Los Angeles Kings defenseman returns to Ann Arbor, enrolls in summer school and continues to chip away at his general studies degree. Although he hasn't experienced life as a full-time student for three years, Johnson relishes his time on campus.

During the season:

During the NHL season, Johnson, who is 23, takes classes online, using off-days to study and complete coursework. Technology, including video conferencing and Web tutorials, has made distance learning easier, but balancing school with an NHL career isn't easy.

Red is proud, since he's someone who has said in the past that he wants his guys getting an education, but that he won't get in the way of their NHL dreams:

"Jack's done really well with that. Some players say they'll (come back to finish) and they never do. But Jack has, and good for him."

Johnson's motivation:

"I come from a family where everyone has a degree, and I don't want to be the black sheep at the dinner table," Johnson said. "My 12-year-old brother gives me a hard time and he says he's going to get one before I do, and so I've got pressure.

And of course, my favorite quote:

"But I'm very proud of being a Michigan athlete, a Michigan student and it's always something I'll have in my pocket. It's a priceless thing to have."

Johnson seems to be a rarity in the NHL, not that he went to college hockey first, but rather he wants to finish his degree. The academic side of things seems very important to him even while he's making millions of dollars. They say hockey players are much more grounded than other athletes, this seems to support that belief.

Wolverines Win Under The Sun

The University of Michigan Solar Car won the 2010 American Solar Car Challenge:

The University of Michigan's Infinium solar car was an obvious front runner. With five wins under their belt and boasting a top speed of more than 100 mph, University of Michigan placed first at the Formula Sun Grand Prix, the qualifying event leading up to the the race, and led every segment of the race.
But it takes more than speed to win the multistage race. The Michigan team posted on its blog that the Infinium often got caught in traffic, erasing its lead and giving University of Minnesota a chance to catch up.
Despite traffic setbacks and a 15-minute delay caused by rain damage to the vehicle's lighting board, the Michigan team sprinted across finish line at around 10 a.m. Sunday, sealing its sixth victory in the race's 20-year history with an elapsed time of 28 hours, 14 minutes, and 44 seconds.

Hail.

Tradition

For the longest time, I've been trying to grasp what about Michigan that I love. Why did I decide to transfer to Michigan? What about the school made me want to go there? Why would I leave a place where I had established a group of friends and was extremely comfortable with the academics. What was I missing?

I get asked why I transferred all the time. Almost as quick as I am to admit that I transferred to the U, people swiftly ask me why I made the move. It's always been hard for me to explain. To understand why I moved on, they would have to understand me. They would have to get into my brain. They would have to know my values. They would have to know me.

I guess the first thing I talk about is sports. Perhaps because it the thing I can talk most about. This is almost a self defense mechanism because I really hate talking about myself. I would much rather talk about the place that I worked hard to get to. Also, Michigan sports are easy for everyone to relate to. Almost everyone I know goes to football games, many people go to hockey games and basketball games as well. You can make an instant connection with any Michigan student by mentioning the sports.

That's not the thing I cherish though. As much as Michigan sports need to win, success isn't what drives the athletic program. It's not what drives the school. What drives the school and what I love about and the reason I transferred to Michigan is the tradition. This is what was severely lacking at Case.

Oh and let me wax poetic about my youth. When I watched all the college students going batshit crazy, I thought it was the sports that I wanted to enjoy. Actually, it was the spirit that they had. The experience they shared. The love that was being built within them. I felt it all radiating within me when I first stepped on campus as a student.

Now I may get down on certain aspects of the school such as the difficulty of the academics or the lack of study space, but I never get down on the school. Actually, I am always happy when I'm at Michigan. The chant goes "it's great to be a Michigan Wolverine." That chant was made because it is entirely true. I always feel a sense of joy and pride when I'm around campus, and it's not uncommon for me to show my love for the school by wearing Michigan paraphernalia. Perhaps devotion is a more suitable term.

Another question I get is "what do you think of Michigan?" I laugh when I hear this question. It is probably the worst question I've ever heard in fact. There are a lot of decisions that I've made that I've second guessed, but never for a minute have I second guessed coming to Michigan. I did apply to a lot of schools and certainly thought some schools were more desirable. I look back and think, "wow I really lucked out." Hindsight is 20-20 and I couldn't see myself anywhere else.

I am really sad that I am soon to be entering my last semester of college. I am very happy that I get the chance to spend another semester at my school. I'm going to be cherishing every minute of it. I'm going to experience feelings of longing and desire. I'm going to want to hold on with everything I've got, but at the end, it will be the end. It will be time to move on to greener pastures as they say (yes, pun was intended).

That's not everything though. I've met a lot of good people over my time here. I don't want to waste these relationships. I want to spend time with the people who made me feel at home when I was new. I want to get to know people better. I want to meet new people. It's my last semester; I might not have regrets about going to Michigan, but I don't want to have any regrets as I'm leaving.

Thank you for reading.

This Is a Joke

Michigan punishes itself for violations:

"We're imposing on ourselves what we believe is corrective actions," athletic director David Brandon said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Ultimately, the NCAA will decide what the appropriate sanctions and penalties are."

More on punishment:

Michigan reduced its quality staff by 40 percent -- from five to three -- and will prohibit them from attending practices, games or meetings for the rest of 2010. Despite a new NCAA rule that allows quality control staff to attend meetings, Michigan won't allow this to happen until 2011.

The football program will forfeit 130 hours of practice time during the next two years. The university found that the football program exceeded limits on football activities by a total of 65 hours in 2008 and 2009, so it simply doubled the total for its self-imposed penalty.

Michigan will issue letters of reprimand to seven people it deems responsible for the violations: Mike Barwis, Scott Draper, Brad Labadie, Joe Parker, Rich Rodriguez, Judy Van Horn and Ann Vollano.

The university also acknowledges the dismissal of former graduate assistant Alex Herron, named in one of the NCAA's allegations for "providing false and misleading information" to both NCAA and Michigan investigators. Herron was fired after
Michigan received the NCAA's Notice of Allegations in February.

By admitting to major violations, Michigan knows it will go on NCAA probation for two years, which doesn't mean much unless more violations are committed.

Loddy fucking Da. I'm just blowing bubbles. Why punish at all?

A Sick Comeback

14 run comeback for the one and only U.

Obama Makes It Rain

Ann Arbor looks so miserable right now.

Commencement: Officially a Maize Out

Dress in your Maize for commencement. I want the whole stadium to be Maized out. If not, the terrorists have won.

Down With The Obamanation!

Okay, so I'm going to commencement now. I have tickets. Yay.

Live blogging? If they'll let me.

Obamination

I woke up early today (Morning is early). Shook off a hangover. Brushed my teeth. I was going to see Obama. Well, I was going to get tickets to see Obama. Then I remembered that I was at Michigan. I go to a school of a bunch of liberal hippies. And they all suck. There was a huge line going down State Street, as far as the eye could see. I sort of knew that this was the line to see the President, but I just walked past them. There were people...inside...who had camped out...they were still sleeping. That's when I had a realization. I go to school with a bunch of liberals. Too many infact. I had had it.

Barack, why are you so popular? Michigan has the highest unemployment in the union and yet you still are popular amongst our student population. People called you out of touch with the American public. Perhaps it's the American public who is out of touch with America?

Bottom line: Fuck this school.

Real line: I've seen Obama speak before. Who cares.

I don't have time for lines. I'm home. I'm blogging. I'm sleeping.

What's Goin' Down at the U

I picked up the Daily this morning, and this article was on the cover. Here's the main point of the article:

University officials are worried that Michigan’s shrinking population could result in fewer in-state students applying to and enrolling in the University down the road.

My question, and the question I'd given some thought to prior to this article was what makes Michigan great? How does the ratio of in state to out of state students affect the Michigan Experience?

As an out of state student, I feel that most out of state students who decide to go to Michigan are very passionate about the school. They could have gone elsewhere, but they chose to attend Michigan because they love Michigan. However, there has to be something that attracts these students to Michigan. It's not like out of state students and in state students separate themselves. It's quite the opposite in fact. Michigan probably has one of the most integrated campuses for a public school in the country.

Part of that might be the ratio. The in state students who hate State and grew up despising OSU bring something to the University that out of state students can't really feel until they arrive on campus. They were born and bred Michigan. They bring spirit, they bring passion, and they bring Michigan. However, a common argument is that they bring down the overall quality of the student body.

Michigan isn't the hardest school to get into, but I think part of that has to do with the fact that the in state applicant pool is self-selective. This means that there's less in state applicants, but they are of higher quality. Additionally, I think Michigan is the type of school that if you're not prepared for, you will be notified real fast. It's an academic powerhouse beyond everything else and it doesn't stop at admissions. The whole undergraduate experience is a beast.

So no, I don't think in state students bring down the caliber of the students, nor do I sit on a golden pedestal as an out of state student. I wonder how changing the ratio between the two types of students would change the Michigan Experience, but then I realize, I don't want to know. Michigan is great because of the ratio and what each side brings to the table. While I'm sure the ratio will shift as the state population changes, I know that this will be because admissions will need to maintain the quality of the student body. Regardless, Michigan will continue being an academic powerhouse, building people of high character.

The Big House Or The Bank House

I'm sure a lot of people are excited about the new renovations at Michigan Stadium. It was an investment to the stadium and into the program, and while people may think it was a costly expenditure, it appears that it will pay major dividends:

Parker says 58 of the 81 suites are spoken for and 47 of them have been paid in full, adding he's confident the other 11 will be soon. Suites range in price from $55,000 to $85,000 and include 16 tickets, parking and a three-, five- or seven-year pledge.

Parker says the school has commitments for 2,822 of its 3,685 club seats that cost between $1,500 to $4,000 per seat plus the cost of tickets.

It's not just about the revenue that the University will gain from the suites, but also the ability to court potential alums and other donors to give money to the school. Michigan is a public school, but most of its funds are private. We rely heavily on our alumni to support the school.

Obama is Michigan's Commencement Speaker

I was excited until I saw this:

When speaking at commencement, Obama will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Just utterly disappointed with my university.

Renovating Crisler?

According to Terry Foster, the U will finally renovate Crisler Arena. If you've been to Crisler, you would know what a dump it is. It's concrete and cold. Most importantly, it's not student friendly.

Now that football is set the school will ask the Board of Regents for $20 million during a meeting set for Thursday to upgrade lower bowl seating, indoor practice facility and badly needed infrastructure. The arena is a dump and does not sell the basketball program.

My main problem is that as a student, if you're no in the bleachers, it's hard to get involved in the game and make noise. The concrete is not easy to jump on. There's only limited seating there too so the environment isn't as good as it should be. I hope that this is taken into consideration when the renovations take place.

***UPDATE***

The University has announced renovations. Here's a quote from outgoing AD Billy Martin:

Renovating Crisler Arena is an integral part of our basketball program's future success, on and off the court," said Martin, the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. "We really haven't done any infrastructure work in the arena since its construction 40-plus years ago, and this will be a major step forward in improving our basketball facilities

Here are the plans:

The first phase would address the highest priority infrastructure needs such as repair of the roof, electrical, plumbing and air handling systems. Lower bowl seats also would be replaced, with the expansion of seating for people with disabilities, addition of hand rails and other code related issues.

As proposed, the design work for the renovation by TMP Architecture, assisted by Sink Combs Dethlefs would begin in 2011. Those firms designed the new $23.2 million Basketball Player Development Center, which is scheduled to be completed in 2011. The design of the Player Development Center has been coordinated with the future Crisler Arena improvements in mind.

Funding for the renovations would be provided through Athletic Department resources.

Looking forward to coming back and seeing this.

New AD At The University Of Michigan

It officially announced yesterday that David Brandon, CEO of Dominos has been named the new athletic director pending Board of Regents approval:

“This is a new era, and I think David Brandon really is positioned well for the challenges that we’re going to face in the future,” Coleman said.

Coleman said though there were many candidates vying for the position and others were nominated for it, she felt Brandon’s experience made him the right person for the job.

“Times are different now than they were when Bill took over,” Coleman said of Martin. “I think (Brandon) has a lot of management skills that, as the department has grown and it’s become more complicated, we’ll need to pull on.”

President Coleman goes on to say:

“One of the things that David talked about during his interviews was really quite intriguing — how to enhance our fan experience,” Coleman said.

“There are all sorts of things we need to be looking at for the future because people are going to have choices about what they do with their leisure time and we want to keep people connected to the University,” Coleman said, adding that athletics is a key way to keep people active in the University community.

I will add more about my take on the new athletic director later today, but this is exciting news.

Football Saturdays

Tailgating prior on Football Saturdays is one of the fine traditions that the University has. I couldn't imagine the University without it. The day I walk down Hill and State street and see empty front lawns, I will shed a tear. Tailgating is something that we students earned during the week. Michigan is such a great school because of its academic rigor. We students work hard, so that we can play hard.

Anyway, you're probably wondering why I bring up tailgating on Football Saturday. Well, in today's Michigan Daily, there was an article about a program other Big Ten schools are implementing to curb drinking before games. The University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin have introduced programs which will breathalyze students who have been previously ejected from a game. The idea is to allow students a chance to attend games, but in such a way that their behavior is fit. Drinking affects the way people act whether with their coordination or their attitude. By implementing such a rule, these two universities are hoping to reduce drinking prior to games and this type of crude behavior.

It does not appear that the University of Michigan has a plan like that at its Big Ten counterparts. Additionally, if they do implement a plan, they would like to implement one specific to the University. I don't know what kind of action they would take, but I don't think that they should specifically attack Football Saturday. There are thousands of students and alumni who tailgate prior to football games. There are only so many arrests per week. The actions and irresponsibility of a few people should not ruin the party for everyone else.

I do hope that the University does implement a plan though. As I was walking to the Ohio State game, it was the first time I was embarrassed to be a Michigan student. I love this school as much as anyone if not more, but seeing the behavior of students who were severely intoxicated whether it be their coordination, comprehension, or their behavior really was a negative experience for me. I tried to put myself in the position of an outsider. Would I be impressed by students of such a great university if I saw them in that state? Absolutely not.

Fun is an intricate part of the University experience, but there's a line that needs to be maintained. The University's image is important too, and to me, people stumbling out of parties, having trouble staying awake, or getting into fights for all the world to see is not a positive depiction of our school. I understand that drinking is all about having a good time or getting pumped up for the game, but you don't disappear to some fantasy world on Football Saturdays. There is a certain decorum that needs to be maintained.