iC i H11 i l Ann Arbor,_Michigan Thursday, January 13, 2011 michigandaily.com Michigan community in toducedto Brady Hoke Hoke: 'We're going ers that we've been able to touch ..." He cleared his voice, eyes water- to be a program ingandopened his mouth, butthese words wouldn't come easy. that's accountable' He pursed his lips and finished, ... as a family. Go Blue." By TIM ROHAN This was the man who wouldn't. Daily Sports Editor take Michigan Athletic Direc- tor Dave Brandon's phone call to Near the end of his introductory accept theMichigan head coach- press conference at the Junge Fam- ing job until his wife Laura came ily Champion's Center yesterday, home from her morning swim at Brady Hoke slowed to express a the YMCA, so he could share the point that meant a lot to him. After moment with her. mentioning many others, he had one This was the man who accept- thank you left to give. ed the job over the phone, on the "And one other thank you I spot on Tuesday morning, without should give to thecthousands of play- See HOKE, Page 5A New an dformer coaches talk B Robinson's future TOP: Newly-hired Michigan football coach Brady Hoke at his introductory press conference yesterday (MARISSA MCCLAIN/Daily). BOTTOM LEFT: Hoke at last night's Michigan men's basketball game against Ohio State (JAKE FROMM/Daily). BOTTOM RIGHT: Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon and Hoke at yesterday's press con- ference (MARISSA MCCLAIN/Daily). For more on Brandon's search for a "Michigan Man," see Sports, Page 7A. BRADY'S BIO Hoke gained the respect- MICHIGAN'S D-LINE COACH LDURING 1997 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. Rodriguez never had ) HEAD COACH AT A s Brady Hoke was intro- BALL STATE AND duced as the Michigan SAN DIEGO STATE football team's 19th head coach yesterday, his hands >) HAS A 47-50 anxiously fidgeted with the 1997 OVERALL RECORD National Championship ring that he earned as the defensive line PL AYE D L INEBACKE R coach under former head coach AT BALL STATE Lloyd Carr. It was natural to be nervous. NA MED 2010 After all, during his time as MOUTAINA 200 coach of San Diego State and Ball MOU NTAIN WEST State, he had never been grilled CONFERENCE like he was about to be grilled by COACH OF THE YEAR the Michigan media. The lack of respect from the Michigan fan base couldn't havebeen doing much to ease his tensions. Less than 24 hours beforehand, he was viewed by many as the fallback NICK SPAR Hoke's career 47-50 record in the Mid-American Conference and the Mountain West Confer- ence wasn't wowing anyone. It didn't wow the Michigan faithful, who knew nothing about the guy besides the shoddy record and the fact that he happened to be a "Michigan Man." On Tues- day evening, Facebook statuses from Michigan fans everywhere sardonically remarked on the sad state of the program. Many skeptics thought Bran- don methodically turned the See SPAR, Page SA High school coach: Robinson's transfer still an option By RYAN KARTJE Daily Sports Editor Now that Michigan's head 'coaching position is secured, one of the first tasks on the docket for new headman Brady Hoke will be to keep Michigan's offensive cen- terpiece - sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson - in Ann Arbor. And after the San Diego Union Tribune reported that San Diego State offensive coordinator Al Borges will be accompanying Hoke to Michigan, the question of how Robinson will fit in the Wol- verines' new offense is one that many Michigan fans, and Rob- inson himself, will look to have answered in the coming days. In his introductory press con- ference today, Hoke made it clear he understands how valuable Robinson is to the Wolverines. "We have got a special guy in See ROBINSON, Page 5A option to coaches Les Miles, Jim Harbaugh, and really anyone else involved in Michigan Athletic Director David Brandon's clan- destine national search. LSA theme semester promotes water sustainability House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to speak at'U' U.S. representative to address issues facing new Congress By JENNA SIMARD Daily StaffReporter The U.S. House of Representa- tives Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va) is coming to speak on cam- pus next month, the University announced yesterday. Cantor will discuss issues fac- ing the new Republican majority in the House and how legislators plan to tackle them during his speech on Feb. 2 sponsored by the Ford School of Public Policy. Cantor, who has been a mem- ber of the House since 2001, was elected House Majority Leader earlier this month after the GOP took control of the lower chamber in last November's midterm elec- tions. Laura Lee, director of commu- nications for the Ford School of Public Policy, said that Cantor's visit will be a great addition to the school's prominent list of speakers. WEATHER HI 24 TOMORROW LO 19 "We host quite an active pub- lic lecture series here at the Ford School," Lee said. "We try to make it as robust as possible, invite lots of different people who hold lots of different political positions or policy analysts or researchers." Cantor's speech is part of the School of Public Policy's mission to present the University commu- nity with a dialogue on pertinent policy issues, Lee said. The pre- sentation will also address Con- gress's attemptto reduce spending and unnecessary regulations, according to a University press release issued yesterday. As the second-most powerful member of the House, Cantor is a key player on the national political scene, Lee added. "We are just happy he accepted our invitation," she said. "Hear- ing from somebody who is in the position to really influence federal policy will be a great opportunity for students," Lee said. Congressional Quarterly described Cantor as "GOP's com- municator, rainmaker and con- sensus builder," the press release See CANTOR, Page 6A College urges students to put thought into action By MICHELE NAROV Daily StaffReporter After the College of Literature, Science and the Arts encouraged student to ponder "What makes life worth living" in its previous theme semester, the college aims to tackle a simpler topic in the coming months - water. But, according to those involved in the theme semester planning, water is anything but trite. "We are all made mostly of water, we all live near water, and we are all connected to water - at least in a basic way," Manja Holland, co-chair of the LSA Theme Semester Steering Com- mittee, said. In accordance with the LSA Theme Semester, 75 academic courses are currently being offered that are related to the study of water. LSA will also. sponsor more than 90 water- related events throughout the semester, including lectures, performances and workshops across campus. JEDMOCH/Daily Associate Music Prof. Michael Gould, Stephen Rush, director of the Digital Music Ensemble in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, and Music Specialist Jeremy Edwards perform on ice drums on the Diag yesterday. Holland, a fellow in the Department of Ecology and Evo- lutionary Biology, proposed the water theme for this semester. She said she thought of the idea because of its omnipresence in her career as an ecologist and in the work and research of her col- leagues and the world. Amy Harris, co-chair of the steering committee, said the theme will focus on water sus- tainability, ecological studies and many other disciplines. "It's not only about environ- mental sciences," Harris said. "It's also about literature, the visual arts, culture and history." Though organized by LSA, more than 40 departments across campus and about a dozen Ann Arbor institutions not affili- ated with the University - like the Ann Arbor Public Library and local businesses - will also participate. The semester program began yesterday with an ice percussion concert held on the Diag, where students and faculty members played replicas of ancient per- cussion instruments made of ice. Other upcoming events include a riverbank clean-up project and a lecture by world-renown ocean- See LSA, Page 6A GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail news(amichigandaily.com and let us know. NEWONMICHIGANDAILY.COM Activist Kerry Kennedy to speak on campus MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS/THE WIRE INDEX AP NEWS...... Vol. CXXINo. 72 OPINION...... Q011tTheMichiganDaily NEWS. michigaiidoily.cow ..3A CLASSIFIEDS ..4A SPORTS........ .5A THE B-SIDE. .6A 7A