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Thursday, May 28, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Schlissel warns ‘M’ won’t play without on-campus instruction
As colleges and conferences
across the country move closer
to resuming athletic activities,
Michigan
President
Mark
Schlissel is taking a much more
measured approach.
“If there is no on-campus
instruction then there won’t be
intercollegiate athletics, at least
for Michigan,” Schlissel said
in an interview with the Wall
Street Journal.
These remarks come days
after the NCAA voted to allow
voluntary football and basketball
workouts to resume starting
on June 1 and Michigan Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer relaxed her
stay at home order slightly,
allowing groups of less than
10 people to congregate in one
location as long as they practice
social distancing.
Recently, football coaches Jim
Harbaugh and Don Brown have
spoken about the possibility
of playing in front of empty
stadiums,
but
both
seemed
certain about there being a
season this coming fall.
The ramifications go beyond
football, as Schlissel also noted
any decision made about the fall
would be extended to the winter
semester also. Meaning that
there may also be no basketball,
should classes be online.
Schools across the country
are making moves to adjust to
COVID-19, with Notre Dame,
Texas, North Carolina and South
Carolina adopting a schedule for
the fall that sends students home
on Thanksgiving, extending its
winter break and starting early.
The SEC voted to allow use of
athletic facilities on campus
beginning June 8 and Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott believing there
might be fans in stadiums to
start the football season.
The
Big
Ten
has
chosen
to
leave
decisions
about
athletic programs largely up
to the schools, leading to the
possibility of a season with some
schools participating and some
not. Ohio State athletic director
Gene Smith, for instance, is
allowing voluntary workouts to
begin June 8, pending university
approval.
Football makes up 43 percent
of Michigan’s athletic revenue
through the season, and while
playing without fans will put a
significant dent in that revenue,
a
season
without
football
entirely will be incredibly costly
to the University. The athletic
department’s budget last year
was $185 million, but it seems
that won’t play much into a
decision.
“So although trouble in a $185
million unit is a big deal, it isn’t
of the scale that it threatens the
University,” Schlissel said.
KENT SCHWARTZ
Daily Sports Editor
Harbaugh, Brown ready to play in empty stadiums
Since the COVID-19 pandemic
halted all sports back in March,
it’s been fairly clear: If we’re
lucky enough to get them back,
100,000 fans in the Big House is
probably a step too far.
That remains the case, even
as the NCAA starts to carve out
a path to reopening — it voted
Wednesday to allow voluntary
activities for football and men’s
and
women’s
basketball
to
resume June 1. And, barring a
medical miracle, stuffing the Big
House this August will remain
an unhealthy choice.
“There is a reason to feel some
confidence
here,”
Michigan
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said
in a radio interview recently.
“But we also have to measure
(people’s) expectations and say
life’s going to be different. We’re
not going to be filling stadiums
in the fall.”
With that in mind, Michigan
football seems more than ready
to deal with the new reality.
Defensive
coordinator
Don
Brown spent five years as an
assistant coach at Hartford High
School in Vermont, from 1977-82,
and knows what it’s like to look
up in the stands and see just 500-
600 people there.
“The one good thing is, people
get excited about it that are there,
but will there be anybody there?”
Brown said Thursday on a Zoom
call with reporters. “Let’s hope.
The key will be the preparation.
And I think this: The Michigan
guys, the Michigan football guys
that I know, love football. They
love it. They love playing it. They
love everything associated with
it.”
One
day
prior,
in
an
appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up!”
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh
said playing in an empty stadium
wouldn’t be a problem.
“You
could
definitely
test
both teams, you could test the
officials and everybody, but can
you test 100,000 fans coming
into
a
stadium?”
Harbaugh
said. “Probably not. Without a
vaccine, you probably couldn’t
do that.
“To answer your question,
heck yeah, I’d be comfortable
coaching a game without any
fans. If the choice were play in
front of no fans or not play, then
I would choose to play in front of
no fans. And darn near every guy
I’ve talked to on our team, that’s
the way they feel about it.”
Other coaches and programs
have been more optimistic —
Ohio State athletic director Gene
Smith told reporters this week he
could see holding games at Ohio
Stadium with limited capacity
— but the overriding desire at
Michigan is simply to get back
on the field and in Schembechler
Hall.
“We’ve got a good group of
coaches and analysts and we’re
just anxious, chomping to get
back into the building and get
back to some form of normalcy,”
Brown said. “Cause I love my seat
in that room (at Schembechler)
when I got the two screens. I just
feel like I’m in my element there.
Sitting in my spare bedroom in
Cape Cod sometimes just doesn’t
cut it.”
Of course, even that won’t look
normal. Brown talked of wearing
a mask in the building and
holding staff meetings in a team
room in order to practice social
distancing. But stipulations like
that are worth it if it means
football can happen.
“Just like coach (Harbaugh)
said, hey, I’d rather play in front
of nobody then not play,” Brown
said. “Cause that could knock me
into retirement.”
ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Unless something drastic changes, Michigan will play without or with limited fans in the stadium this upcoming season.
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
President Mark Schlissel expresses pessimism about football, athletics.