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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.

