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Thursday, July 16, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS

Michigan releases plan for ticketing at fall sporting events

Michigan answered one of the 
many questions surrounding this 
year’s uncertain situation for fall 
sports on Wednesday, releasing its 
plan for football tickets.
This fall, there will be no season 
tickets and no tickets open to the 
general public. Instead, individual 

game tickets will be sold to a mix of 
season ticket holders and students 
as capacity permits — a number 
still undecided.
“We have been working closely 
with a wide variety of leaders 
to ensure a safe and healthy 
environment 
for 
our 
student-
athletes, coaches, fans and support 
staff associated with a game at 
Michigan 
Stadium,” 
athletic 

director Warde Manuel said in 
a statement. “We will follow the 
direction that all of these agencies 
and experts continue to provide 
during this challenging time.”
While all season-ticket holders 
who purchased a deal will have 
their seating location reserved 
for the 2021 season regardless, 
the University is offering three 
different plans to for what to do 

with 
the 
money 
season-ticket 
holders have already given.
They will have the option to 
convert their payment into a tax-
deductible 
gift 
to 
Michigan’s 
athletic department, an option that 
will alleviate the pressure brought 
on by COVID-19 slightly.
Season-ticket holders could also 
add their purchase towards paying 
for 2021 season tickets, making 

those year’s tickets cheaper. Or, 
they could request a refund.
“Once a final decision on the 
football 
season 
is 
made, 
the 
athletic ticket office will follow 
up with additional details on how 
to request the option for PSC and 
season tickets,” the statement 
reads. “Season ticket holders do 
not need to take any action at this 
time.”

Impacts of a conference-only schedule

In a decision that created more 
questions than it answered, the Big 
Ten Conference ruled in favor of a 
conference-only schedule for all fall 
sports on Thursday. And while Big 
Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren’s 
audible keeps the hope of fall sports 
alive — for the time being — it will 
cause significant changes in the way 
student-athletes and coaches prepare 
for the upcoming season.
The Michigan football team is no 
different.
The idea of a 10-game Big Ten 
slate has floated around since the 
conference’s 
announcement 
on 
Thursday afternoon, but there’s no 
formal word yet regarding what to 
expect or when to expect it. Some Big 
Ten teams, including the Wolverines, 
have even pulled their original 2020 
schedule off their official websites.
For now, let’s operate under the 
working assumption that a nine or 
10-game Big Ten schedule is in store 
for this fall. From position battles to 
a sense of urgency, The Daily breaks 
down how Michigan is impacted most 
by the Big Ten’s decision to impose a 
conference-only schedule:
How 
does 
this 
affect 
the 
Wolverines’ quarterback battle?
Between senior Dylan McCaffrey 
and junior Joe Milton, the winner of 
Michigan’s quarterback competition 
may not have a particularly long leash.
Given the abbreviated season and 
lack of postseason expansion, the 
Wolverines won’t be able to afford 
many unnecessary hiccups if they 
want to pursue a conference title, let 
alone a College Football Playoff berth. 
The circumstances of this season’s 
title race will be far from normal, 
meaning a potential bump or two 
in the road could be enough to force 
coach Jim Harbaugh’s hand into a 

quarterback change.
But if the conference-only schedule 
delays the season by multiple weeks, 
the Wolverines will have ample time 
to allow the battle to play out.
At this point, that’s Harbaugh’s sole 
focus.
“I’m very excited about the 
quarterbacks that are on the roster 
right now,” Harbaugh said during 
a 
teleconference 
with 
reporters 
Wednesday. “… I see the drive that they 
have, which is very high. And they’ve 
been tremendous leaders, especially 
Dylan and Joe and (sophomore) Cade 
(McNamara) through the virtual 
meetings, the virtual workouts. Doing 
the right things, it’s very important to 
them.”
Whether or not a clear signal-caller 
emerges, however, remains to be seen.
Michigan can’t afford to ease 
into the season
Even before news of a conference-
only football schedule emerged, 
easing into the season wasn’t much of 
an option for the Wolverines.
With a Week 1 trip to perennial 
Pac-12 
contender 
Washington 
previously on the docket, the coaching 
staff already had little time to replace 
a host of starters from last season’s 
team, including 13 who signed NFL 
contracts this offseason. But now, 
without a trip to Seattle and home 
games against Arkansas State and Ball 
State, Michigan will have even less 
time to incorporate its new faces. That 
includes playmakers such as incoming 
freshmen wideouts A.J. Henning and 
Roman Wilson, who each ran verified 
sub-4.50 40-yard dash times in high 
school.
Non-conference games would’ve 
provided an ideal opportunity to add 
a valuable dimension of explosive 
speed on offensive and special 
teams — something second-year 
offensive coordinator Josh Gattis 
has mentioned time and time again. 
For now, however, all that’s left is a 

message that hinges on preparation 
and uncertainty.
“The thing (the staff) suggested 
and I think they really bought into 
was, ‘The providence will favor 
the prepared,’ ” Harbaugh said. “… 
Better to be prepared and not have 
the opportunity than to have the 
opportunity and not be prepared.”
It’s anything but an ideal year 
to break in four new starting 
offensive linemen
There’s never a good time to replace 
four starting offensive linemen, but in 
a normal season, playing a trio of non-
conference games would’ve helped get 
the new faces up to speed.
Even more importantly, it would’ve 
helped offensive line coach Ed 
Warinner and the rest of the staff 
determine who those starters will be. 
Returning right tackle Jalen Mayfield 
appears set to headline the unit, 
while fellow junior Ryan Hayes is the 
likeliest candidate for the other tackle 
spot. The other three starting roles 
are up for grabs, with senior Chuck 
Filiaga, senior Andrew Stueber and 
sophomore Karsen Barnhart duking it 
out for the two guard spots and fifth-
year senior Andrew Vastardis and 
sophomore Zach Carpenter battling 
for the starting center nod.
While replacing four NFL-bound 
starters is no small task, it appears 
Michigan is off to a solid start.
“Overall, I would say (the offensive 
line) looks good,” Harbaugh said. 
“It looks good right now. Both from 
a strength standpoint, really good 
length there and the athleticism 
is really good in that group. … 
Individually, they’ve definitely done a 
great job of understanding the system 
— installs have been probably installed 
three times, if not four. Mentally very 
sharp, and guys are knowing what 
they’re doing.”
Beyond Mayfield, though, the 
Wolverines won’t have many answers 
until they’re thrown into the fire. 

Big Ten to move to fully 
in-conference schedule

Just 
one 
day 
after 
Jim 
Harbaugh 
said 
he 
would 
“want the responsibility of 
keeping our players safe and 
educating them” by having a 
football season, the Big Ten is 
planning to play a conference-
only schedule, if the season 
happens at all, per a source. The 
Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach first 
reported the news.
“My 
thoughts 
would 
be, 
it’s a different conversation if 
there’s no students on campus,” 
Harbaugh said Wednesday. “If 
students are on campus, then 
my personal belief as a parent 
of a daughter who would also 
be on campus that this is a safe 
place.”
As first reported by ESPN, 
the ruling will extend to all 
fall sports, affecting men’s 
and women’s soccer, men’s and 
women’s cross country, field 
hockey, and volleyball.
“If the Conference is able to 
participate in fall sports based 
on medical advice, it will move 
to Conference-only schedules 
in those sports,” the conference 
said in an official statement. 

“Details for these sports will be 
released at a later date.
“... This decision was made 
following 
many 
thoughtful 
conversations 
over 
several 
months between the Big Ten 
Council 
of 
Presidents 
and 
Chancellors, 
Directors 
of 
Athletics, Conference Office 
staff, 
and 
medical 
experts 
including the Big Ten Task 
Force for Emerging Infectious 
Diseases and the Big Ten Sports 
Medicine Committee.”
For 
the 
football 
team, 
the 
ruling 
will 
cause 
the 
cancelation of its scheduled 
games 
at 
Washington, 
vs. 
Ball State and vs. Arkansas 
State. While the Ball State and 
Arkansas State games were one-
time matchups, the Wolverines 
are currently scheduled to play 
Washington in Ann Arbor in 
2021 as part of a home-and-
home series.
As for the rest of Michigan’s 
schedule, it is unclear whether 
the Big Ten will add additional 
conference games to replace 
the three lost games — if 
the current plans hold up as 
coronavirus 
cases 
escalate 
across the country.
Ethan 
Sears 
contributed 
reporting to this story.

DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer

KENT SCHWARTZ
Summer Managing Sports Editor

FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan sports attendance will be further restricted following changes to ticket policy.

THEO MACKIE
Managing Sports Editor

