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Michigan football holds illegal and unproductive practices

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September 11, 2009

Nikki Bowser

       This hypothetical football team would get the 20 or so hours in, and, come game day, be ready to compete with the opponent.  Ideally, this team would win and be thankful for the amount of time allotted to them to become great and then look forward to the next week.

        But maybe this team would not win.  Let’s take this situation, the same hypothetical team and let’s say they lose.  Week one, the team loses.  But let’s also say that this hypothetical team is historically a good team, maybe even great at one time. 

       Historically, the team does not lose often. So a loss, especially an early loss, rattles the team.  But, because the team is a historically good team, they are able to shake off the loss, get back into practice, work hard and win the following week.

       Let’s jump to week ten.  This hypothetical, historically good team has played ten games and won three.  They keep practicing, keep playing, keep losing.  The team is not winning and by December the team is 3-9 and not receiving a bowl bid.

       Okay, let’s be honest.  This team is not hypothetical.  This team is real and this team is really bad.  This team is the 2008 University of Michigan football team and 2008 was not their year.

       Granted, 2008 was Rich Rodriguez’s first season as head coach at Michigan after leaving West Virginia University, but this is no excuse.  Rodriguez is no stranger to winning. 

       Although his first season at WVU was disappointing (3-8), his second season was a stunning turnaround.  The Mountaineers finished with a 9-4 record and Big East runner-up in 2002.  He spent seven seasons coaching in Morgantown, where his teams made an appearance in a New Year’s bowl four times, won three Big East championships, and finished in the Top 10 twice.  Rodriguez even coached the school’s first BCS bowl winning team.

       Rodriguez is not a bad coach.  Rodriguez is a pretty good coach (2005 Big East Coach of the Year, actually), but the 2008 Wolverines were really terrible.  For the first time since the 70’s the Wolverines did not receive a bowl game bid and the team posted only three wins.

       Now, to add insult to injury, an anonymous former player has come forward with claims that Rodriguez is breaking NCAA rules at Michigan and that his team is practicing more than 20 hours a week.  Come on.  The team went 3-9.  Let’s be honest– this team can use all the practice they can get.

       It is unclear whether Rodriguez held these extra practices, if he was even present at them or whether the captains were calling for them. 

       Regardless, this team has no right to complain about the amount of time they spend practicing.  It is obviously not time well spent, and I applaud Rodriguez for sending the team out for more practice after their sub-par performance last year. 

       I am not advocating cheating or rule breaking.  I am advocating winning.  In the past I counted on Michigan to be a good, competitive team because, let’s face it: the Big Ten is not competitive.  I want– no, I need Michigan to win games this year.  I am counting on Michigan to add some strength to Penn State’s weak, weak schedule.

       Tim Tebow is not publicly complaining about the amount of time he spends in practice.  Rather, he has found a better way to utilize his time– he wins games and Heismans.  Crazy, right?  When Michigan starts winning some more games, then maybe I will listen to complaints about too much time being spent in practice.  They cannot lose games and continue to complain about how much they are practicing.

       My advice to the Wolverine football team is this: stop complaining, and start winning.

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