2E -Fall 2014 L; Po1 1,

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

- FaIl 2014 S ports The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

A dizzying, brilliant,
mesmerizing death

FOOTBALL
Athletic Department
announces new 2014
student seating policy

NOVEMBER 30.,2013-
If it was a death, it was
a mesmerizing death.
It was an end fitting for a game
that somehow made everyone
believe again.
Brady
Hoke went
for it. He
didn't have '
to, and he
even had a
chance to
change his ZACH
mind. Michi- HELFAND
gan lined up
for a two-
point conver-
sion to win the game. Ohio State
coach Urban Meyer called a
timeout. Hoke polled his seniors
in the huddle. They all said to
go for it.
It was a mesmerizing, bril-
liant death, but that doesn't ease
the pain, not for Devin Gardner,
who was so despondent after the
42-41 loss to Ohio State, with his
helmet pulled low over his face,
that he needed Kevin Koger to
escort him as he meandered in
a daze off the field, and then
sobbed so loudly it echoed down
Michigan's tunnel. His pain was
raw and endearing and real.
It didn't ease the pain for
Hoke, whose eyes were as red as
the thousands of Buckeye fans
in the Big House. They had come
expecting a rout, snatching tick-
ets from Michigan fans who had
long ago abandoned hope.
It didn't ease the pain for Tay-
lor Lewan, the fifth-year senior
offensive tackle, who nearly
choked up during his press con-
ference.
"I love every single one of
these guys," said Lewan, whose
last play at Michigan Stadium
was the most wrenching. His
voiced wavered. He turned to
Jake Ryan and tapped Ryan's
arm with his fist. "He's my best
friend."
Hoke went for it, because "we
wanted to go win the football
game," he said, and good for
him. The walls have been clos-

New format
replaces general
admission, rewards
attendance
By ALEJANDRO ZUNIGA
Daily Sports Editor
MARCH 11, 2014 - General
admission is no more.
Tuesday afternoon,
Central Student Government
announced a revamped policy
for student seating at home
football

to form seating groups of up to
100 people. This fall, a group
will sit closest to the field if
they are all SuperFans and
will otherwise be placed via
seniority; in following years, it
will be determined by taking
an average of the attendance
points of the grdup members
from the prior season.
Football season tickets this
fall will cost $280 with a $15
service fee, matching prices
from last year. Both seasons
feature seven home contests.
"This is certainly a policy
that's consistent with what
students

Devin Gardner scored five total touchdowns against Ohio State, but the Wolverines fell one two-point conversion short.

ing in during this nightmare of a
month. The team has underper-
formed - regressed even - and
some have called for Hoke's job,
or the job of his offensive coor-
dinator or that of his offensive
line coach. Michigan Athletic
Director Dave Brandon had to
issue a statement of support for
Hoke on Wednesday. The star
recruit chose the other team and
another said he might reconsider
Michigan. Why? He's worried
about Hoke's job. But Hoke went
for it.
It was a rub route, the same
one they practiced this week.
Gardner in the shotgun, with
Devin Funchess, Jeremy Gal-
lon and Drew Dileo stacked to
his right. Funchess ran a post,
Gallon an out. It was supposed
to create space for Dileo, the
little, sure-handed receiver who
always seems to be forgotten
until the biggest moments. Dileo
would surely make the catch,
because he always does.
But Tyvis Powell jumped the
route. Dileo never had a chance.
"I threw an interception to
lose the game," said Gardner,
who put his chin on his fist in
his press conference. He hardly

spoke above a mumble. "There's
not really much else I can say."
After the pass, Gardner
crumpled to the ground, spent.
He stayed there, his arms and
legs extended out. That's what
you'll remember, because that's
the image that will last. This
one hurts just like the loss
last year, maybe even more. A
win wouldn't have cured the
offensive line or erased any
losses. But it would've helped a
lot. Itwould've erased some of
the sting from a disappointing
season. It would've put to rest
any coaching rumors. So, yes,
you'll remember Gardner on
tie ground, because that's what
matters, but don't forget the rest.
Don't forget how it made you
believe, and Hoke too. It was a
painful end, but Michigan lived
it well.
Maybe you allowed yourself
to think this will be a game after
all, after the screen to Gallon on
the first drive. The fight, Hoke
running out to separate his play-
ers, the punches and the double
middle fingers made it personal.
Hoke went for it because he
wanted it as bad as his players.
He wanted it as bad as Gardner,

who threw a touchdown pass
to Dileo down 14 in the fourth
quarter. Afterward, Gardner
tried to run off the field, limping
so badly he nearly fell over on
the sideline. Taylor Lewan came
off limping after that play too,
and bloody again. Most of these
players are playing through inju-
ry because they don't care how
many losses they have. They just
want to beat Ohio State.
By the time Carlos Hyde
fumbled, and the clock showed
plenty of time, and Gardner
was fighting with everything he
had left and the breaks started
turning Michigan's way, a ripple
went through the stadium.
Then Jake Butt scored and
then Funchess, and then the
timeout and it seemed like des-
tiny.
It was a hell of a death, but it
was a hell of a game too, right up
until the end. For the best three
hours of the year, 7-4 Michigan
was on top of the world.
So Hoke went for it. It was
ballsy, and it was risky, and it
didn't work out. But that's what
you do when what you want is
right there to take.
You go for it. You go for it

games. In the
new format,
students will
be rewarded
with better
seats
for their
attendance
the previous
year.
Business
senior

said they
wanted,"
"Some of the Proppe said.
He added
nightmare of that every
student who
general admission wants to
l opurchase
willbe over." season
tickets this
fall will be
able to.

Michael
Proppe, CSG president, and
Public Policy junior Bobby
Dishell, CSG vice president,
worked closely. with the
Athletic Department on the
changes. The result, Proppe
said, is "the best of both
worlds."
Under the new policy, an
individual's accumulated
attendance points this fall will
be the sole determinant of his
or her seat location in 2015.
Students will earn three points
for attending a game and can
collect three more if they arrive
at least 30 minutes before
kickoff. That pattern will
continue for the foreseeable
future, with seat location
assigned via the individual's
points from the previous year
only.
This fall will be a transition
season, in which seats will
be assigned in the following
order: Students who attended
at least five home games
on time in 2013 are deemed
"SuperFans" and will sit
closest to the field in order of
seniority, and those who did
not will be behind them based
solely on seniority.
The attendance points
accumulated this season will
be tallied automatically when
tickets are scanned upon
entering Michigan Stadium.
The new reserved ticketing
format will also allow students

CSG and
the Athletic Department have
been meeting regularly since
September 2013 to assess
the now-scrapped general
admission policy. On-time
attendance increased in 2013,
according to Proppe, but "the
effect was negligible" and
"did not achieve the Athletic
Department's goals" of having
a full student section at kickoff.
A survey conducted by CSG
released Oct. 16 revealed that
76 percent of respondents
said they were opposed to
general admission, with many
indicating their displeasure
at not being able to form
reserved groups to sit with
friends. Seventy-seven percent
indicated that they preferred
the policy in previous years, in
which seating was assigned and
determined by credit hours.
But Proppe believes the
new policy, which will ignore
seniority after 2014 and focus
on rewarding attendance, will
make students happy.
"Students are getting the
main things they wanted, and
the Athletic Department is
getting what they wanted," he
said. "Some of the nightmare
of general admission will be
over."


NUSSMEIER
From Page 1E
again the line will need more
addressing this summer.
"Obviously we're missing some
pieces (on the line), but I feel like
they're playing well," Gardner
said. "It's hard to continue to stop
a greatdefensive line, and we have
a greatdefensive line going against
you for 15 straight days (because)
everyone is learning each other.

And coming into the Spring Game,
it's going to be bland - you can't
show too much."'
Entering the spring, Green was
the presumed starterbut Saturday
shed light on sophomore DeVeon
Smith as a challenger for the spot.
Redshirt junior Justice Hayes is
slottedtobethird,butallthreehad
their struggles breaking through.
Smith and Cole weren't the only
surprising starters for the Wolver-
ines on offense. Nussmeier also
had Canteen starting out wide

opposite junior Devin Funchess,
and he has shown potential early.
The biggest crowd pleaser of the
day came on a 45-yard play action
catch-and-run from Gardner to
Canteen down the left sideline.
"He's earned his respect out
here (with) 14, 15 practices now,"
Gardner said. "He's played well,
made plays and he's developed a
trust with all the quarterbacks.
We trust him and it's great he
came in as a bigsurprise."
With Funchess officially

deemed a wide receiver, junior
A.J. Williams is slotted as the
starting tight end, a position
where the Wolverines are very
thin after Jake Butt's ACL injury.
With the Spring Game behind
it, Michigan sets its sights on fall
camp, where the rest ofthe offense
will be installed and the entire
freshman class will be on campus.
It's only then that Nussmeier's
offense can truly be judged. But
one thing is perfectly clear: There
is work to do.


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