[Upchurch/MGoBlog]

How has the role of athletic director changed?

"Well, I don't know that the role has changed. The magnitude has grown in terms of salaries and the like but I think the people and the effort to really contribute to the success of these students on the student and athletic side is still there. So in the sense of the magnitude financially, particularly here, there's been a lot of growth.

"Actually, to your point, Drew, just this morning when I was in a meeting coach Berenson brought in an article from back in 1984 with the salaries of the coaches back then ,and he was looking for something and found it and thought I'd enjoy it and I did. At that time Bo Schembechler was making more than Don Canham, and it didn't surprise me. The amount he was paid surprised me back in that day compared to now, but I don't think things have changed much in terms of decision making, in terms of effort on the focus on helping these young people, the focus on helping them to produce success on the fields of play—I think those things are all still the same."

Is it harder though for an AD nowadays to take a backseat to more high-profile coaches?

"No, not for me. I never see it in—if you're truly a team there's times where I'll have to step to the podium and address things and there's times where coach Harbaugh and other coaches will be up front. I never have concern about who's in the front, who's in the back. As long as we're all in the same car moving forward I'm good with it."

[/long pause]

"Thank you, everybody. Appreciate it."

Your thoughts on the extraordinary attention your old teammate Jim Harbaugh seems to draw, and how you see your role in working with him, overseeing him, [and] assisting him.

"Well, first and foremost, the Jim Harbaugh that I have known and know now is not the person who's out there seeking this for his own benefit. If the attention comes—it seems to come often—I don't think its…as I've talked to him over the last four or five weeks, it's nothing intentional he's doing to say, 'I want attention.' He's going to do things on Twitter, he's going to make the responses to questions the way he wants to do it, but there's nothing that he's doing to try to bring attention to him. I think he's doing what's in the best interest of the team.

"He's going to defend Michigan and Michigan football, and if that creates some attention, if the things he does to make this football team better create attention and that comes with it then he realizes that's just what's going to happen. He's doing it because—everything we've talked about that he's done he's doing because he thinks it's in the best interest of Michigan football, and for that, for me, I don't mind him getting the attention that he gets."

There's been a lot written about the transgressions, for example, or Syracuse and North Carolina in the Final Four. You've got a basketball program that's run by a guy that most people think is clean. What's the balance there? Obviously you want to win at the highest level but you don't want to get into those gray areas. How do you kind of walk that line?

"You do and you focus on doing the right things on a daily basis. And I'm not going to sit in judgment of any institution. They have people there that are trying to make sure that things are done the right way, and sometimes it happens that you don't. You deal with the penalties, you deal with the things that have to come out, and you move forward to get better.

"What we do is going to try and work at it on a daily basis to emphasize the things that are important. I tell people here all the time, we're here to focus on the academic success of our students; we're here to focus on developing them to win championships and compete for championships; we're here to develop them as young people and win and do all that within the rules, and lastly we're going to have fun doing it.

"I'm not going to comment or sit in judgment of other institutions because I know many of my colleagues across the country are trying to do those same things. Where there are issues you deal with them. You deal with them quickly and effectively and [inaudible because somebody coughed] so that they don't happen again."

[After THE JUMP: Satellite camps, whether there are changes needed in the department, Red's future, and the unexploitable Fitbit system]

When you got on the job was it more observation or is it more like you're going department to department evaluating? Just tying to see where you're at as far as--

"Just trying to see what I've been doing for the last three weeks?"

[/laughs]

Is it more observation and kind of just looking at what you have or are you getting down to business quickly and going through checks and balances with each department?

"Well, I'm trying to learn right now, to understand the process. I mean, listen, there's a lot of things that are similar to the way we were organized at UConn. There's some things that are different, and so I'm trying to learn and get thoughts from people throughout the department, meeting people, just going around saying 'Hello.' I like to get out of my office. It's been hard the last three weeks. My little Fitbit has not been moving much sitting in my office. I wish I could—you know how you shake it? Cuz I'm in competition with some friends and I'm really getting killed right now. But I just want to get to know what this place is.

"I know the essence of the place. I know about a third of the staff well from when I was here for nine years, but I don't know everybody. I don't walk in making assumptions that because I did it at UConn this way I'm going to do it that way here. I need to understand how things have been structured, restructured, how differences may make sense here at Michigan now, and so that's what I'm trying to do and trying to really understand if there are any changes needed and if so how would I restructure in the future.

"But right now, I've had to make some decisions—that's what you do—but for the most part it's really…I don't want y'all to think I'm just sitting there listening to everybody either complain or pump up things that they do. I'm trying to really understand and get to the heart of what people do and how we're organized in this first three weeks."

I know it's two different schools, but do you feel like coming here changes the way you look at your job as far as, 'Okay, I did these things at UConn. That worked well. Maybe I can do those here or maybe I can't'?

"No, the essence of my job is the essence of the five things I just spoke about, from focus on academics to having fun doing it and everything in between. So I don't—the job of being an AD does not change. The people change, the issues may change, the magnitude changes, and I'm not going to change. I mean, my goal is to come in here and be who I am.

"I love meeting people, interacting, making decisions, watching students grow as young people, cheering them on to win and drive success, supporting our coaches to have them be successful. So nothing that I do is going to be different in that sense, but there are going to be differences from being at Michigan versus being at UConn or Buffalo or when I was here eleven-and-a-half years ago."

I know that the NCAA I think is voting on satellite camps this month. Have you had time to sort of sink your teeth into what those are and your thoughts on them? I know Jim did a ton last year and is planning on doing them again.

"I'm supportive of them. I'm supportive of satellite camps and having the opportunity for coaches to go around the country and have the chance to help young people be better in this case in football and grow in their skill and skill development. It gives us the opportunity to meet [them]. It's not restricted to only schools up north can go down to the south. Listen, it's something that I don't see what the problem is in having our coaches be able to go to different parts of the country and participate in camps that help these young people grow and give us the opportunity—it gives them the opportunity to connect with more coaches across the country and to develop their skills and to display their skills at the same time, so I'm supportive of it."

What's Red Berenson's future with this school with the hockey team, and do you have a timetable with a decision that you want from him or anything you've said to him you'd be willing to share with us?

"I said to him what I said before, I want him to stay if he wants to stay. I think he had—I'm proud of the team and what they had done this year, and we've had discussions and I've shared my thoughts, he's shared his thoughts, so hopefully here in the future—I'm not going to put a time limit on it—a decision will be announced about what he wants to do. But, listen, having been the hockey administrator here years ago, I learned a lot from Red. Red has done a lot. This team has been, over time, a consistently competitive national championship [caliber] team, but, you know, we don't…Red means a lot to this department. He means a lot to me personally. He's in great shape. He's a go-getter as much as he was back in the day. He thinks he's slowing down but nobody else does. It's only because his effort level and energy level have always been high.

"He's still recruiting and developing talent. I don't remember—y'all probably do because y'all are better at it than I am—but when's the last time a university had three Hobey Baker finalists out of ten? You know, people want to say, 'Well, is it behind Red? Is he holding on?' Hell no. Not from my perspective.

"And I know I'm not supposed to say that word, sorry. My coach is back there. [Ed.A-one of Michigan's SIDs] I've asked him to give me some feedback. He takes it a lot more seriously than I initially wanted him to. [/laughs] But I think Red is doing a tremendous job and personally I hope he stays, but as I continue to have conversations with him I leave it for him to go through the process. But I think with him as our head coach the hockey program is in great hands."

What is the process in terms of determining what a place like this should look like, whether it be streamlining or whether it be expanding, how do you view just the size of your staff, your auxiliary staff—that number has moved a lot over the last five years.

"It has. One of the—you know, I'll give you a good example. I mean, given the number of renovations and additions to our facilities, I wouldn't walk in here and go, 'Well, our facilities staff is really wrong since I last left.' It should grow. There are other areas we've emphasized that are larger where when you have that emphasis you should grow. The question I have is just trying to figure out where things have grown, is it for the right reasons and where things have either gotten smaller, is it for the right reasons?

"So you're trying to figure that out as it relates to the perspective, the philosophy I have coming in the door and whether I need to adjust or we need to meet in the middle of we need to go one way or the other. So, it's too early to really say, and I think unfair to the organization as it exists now if I step in with my own thoughts and the way I want it done and just automatically say, 'This is going to happen because this is what I'm used to.' I think the analysis I'm trying to go through and the conversations I'm trying to have is really to delve down to try to make ultimately the best decision to move us forward."

I talked to Jim Hackett a couple of weeks ago and he said Jim Harbaugh's contract is done. Is it done?

"It's in process. It's still being processed in terms of the—what's the word—deferred compensation."

Can you explain? It's something with the insurance?

"I don't know enough details to elaborate. I know the cost structure that has been agreed to is not changing. The way the mechanisms of it is being worked through with our legal and his representatives, so I don't know enough about the structure to really explain all the details."

You know the way the NCAA works.

"I do, yeah."

If they vote against the satellite camps do they pull the plug right away or is that something that's a year down the road? How does that all work?

"It all depends on…I don't remember the legislation. I'm not sure if it's effective immediately. That would be hard to do based on plans and expenditures that have been made and things that have gone out. More than likely, when it's not an emergency type situation or rule and there's time, they normally would say effective August of 2016. They could come out and make it as an immediate, pass it as an immediate rule, but I'm not sure where it's trending right now. I used to be on that NCAA council but I got off of it immediately [/laughs], so I don't remember the rule and I haven't looked at it."

What do you feel about the change where Notre Dame's now coming to the Big Ten in hockey [I've checked multiple sources and can't figure out the tail end of the question but that's the gist of it]?

"I think it's a great addition. I think six was too few. I'm not sure seven is the right number, but seven is better. You know, I think in the last—if I'm not mistaken—only one team from the Big Ten hockey group has gone to the NCAAs. What you're looking at is increasing the competition within the conference so you can strengthen the conference in order to really elevate it nationally. Now, it just so happens that at times the institutions in the league in the last couple years have been down and we don't want that to continue as a trend, but I think the Notre Dame addition is a positive addition for our hockey league."

You brought up five years ago and how much the staff has changed and how much everything has changed. The last guy that had your seat permanently left with a bit of negative attention, I think it's fair to say, and people around here were kind of upset around here about it. Curious what you think of the current state of the athletic department and if it needs an overhaul or things to be tweaked or things to be changed to be doing things the right way and move in the right direction?

"Look, I walk in here and I assume and I know we have great coaches and great staff and great people who are really working hard to make Michigan Athletics and the University of Michigan and all our fans very proud.

"I don't know enough, having stepped in with that assumption, to say that people are right or wrong for the place or the way we do things is right or wrong. I'm trying to get in to really understand it, as I said earlier, to try to make the best decisions that I feel need to be done to move us forward. And I think regardless of what has happened in the past, I know that the people who have sat in this seat, every one of them, worked hard to try to make the best decisions to move this place forward regardless of how it may have worked out for them.

"I hope that I buck that trend in my stay as athletic director, but all I'm going to do is keep working hard to make the right decisions for us and hopefully that produces success for these young people in the classroom and on the field of play and for them as young people. And so that's the way I look at it and that's the way I'm sort of moving forward."

You talked about meeting with the coaches. Have you gotten any time to meet with the athletes and talk about their needs and wants from you early on?

"I have had an opportunity on two or three occasions to meet with different groups of the student-athletes. I haven't met with all 950 in one area, but I met with our SAC representatives a week ago. When I came in I requested that I get a chance to meet with some of the students, but not really one-on-one time to get their feedback. What I told our SAC group is they're an integral part of our success and their feedback is important to me. I will meet with them on a semester basis. Each semester go in, talk about what's on my mind, hear their thoughts. I did tell them that I want their opinions on student-athlete time demands. That's a big issue with the NCAA. I need to know where our student-athletes are on that issue.

"I had my first meeting with a team. I was telling Bev Plocki when I met with her of my goal of going out and meeting all the teams and she invited me right away because they're in the regionals to get a chance to say 'hello' to them and talk about that and tell them how proud I was of their Big Ten championship, but I have yet to get into meetings with individual students where I talk to them about wants and needs, but that's coming because one of the needs that I have is to really understand where our group of student-athletes are on the student-athlete time demand issues that are nationally being talked about now.

"I need to hear from them, not just—my coaches' voice is important, my staff's voice is important—but on that issue I need to hear from our students. I plan on doing that definitely by the fall, and I know our SAC representative for the Big Ten has been actively involved in the Big Ten discussion with the SAC representatives from around the conference."

I have a two-pronged question. If you could first just talk about how it feels to watch Jim Harbaugh in action-there are times where we're out seeing him and he's conducting practices at Ford Field or down in Florida and it feels a little like when The Beatles first came over to the states, he's kind of got that effect on fans. The second question, could you just reflect on some of your memories of playing in the spring game, what it means to students, what it means to athletes, what it means to the fanbase, and also that it's going to be a bit later on a Friday night.

"First question…you know, Drew may be the only one who remembers—I'm just saying—but my freshman year when Jim was the quarterback here--and as a quarterback you always attract attention, always--and I was always impressed from back then with the way that Jim was always himself and handled the attention. I don't know how it's perceived by the media. I really don't read a lot about other's perceptions of individuals but I will say this: that Jim has always been himself, and the reality to me in this world is I respect people who are themselves, who are true to themselves, who are not trying to be what other people always want them to be.

"We always try to be professional and we always try to carry ourselves in a manner that presents the best of ourselves, but I've always been impressed. I remember the game—I don't even know if I should say this. I'm probably going to get dinged by my coach over there. I remember watching Jim when he was at Stanford and the conversation that he had at midfield with Pete Carroll when he was at USC, and I don't know who I was with, I don't remember the circumstances, but I do remember what I said. I said, 'That's the Jim Harbaugh I've always known.' To be a competitor and to be fiery and to be passionate about his team, his teammates, and so I've always loved that about him.

"Now, spring ball. Spring ball was a little tougher for us than it is nowadays. We used to have shirts, and I don't even know if I ever received one because between my neck injury, I remember having ankle injuries during spring ball…we used to hit for 20 days, everyday, for those who remember those days. And so spring ball was always tough around here because particularly as a freshman you had the opportunity to scrimmage and play and showcase your abilities and there was a lot of scrimmaging and hitting during that time, and so it was tough, but it was fun. I wish this old body could go through it again, but it can't. But I remember it fondly.

"You know, Bo—we practiced indoors in Oosterbaan then because usually there was snow on the ground, but we would always try to get to the stadium for our spring game and that was always a great time for us. A lot of great fun jawing back and forth with your own teammates and breaking into teams and then at the end back then the winning team got to eat steak, the losing team ate hot dogs, and we played in a little gold tournament called the Shank Open and it was nine holes.

"It was when I first played golf. I didn't fall in love with it then. I play golf now, but I remember it was the first time I'd been on a golf course my freshman year and had no idea how to hold a club. We probably caused too much work for the facilities people coming in. Bo made it a lot of fun, but it was a lot of hard work-- and I had the great luxury of being on three Big Ten championship teams in my four years and I can tell you a lot of the work that we did in spring ball back then led to those championships."

Real quick on the deferred comp question, is Jim going to get a raise next year? Is his salary going to be the same or is it going up?

"I don't know. Good question. I haven't studied everybody's contract. There's nothing that anyone, Jim Hackett or anybody, said that a raise was in the works. Jim has not brought it up to me at all, so I don't—whatever would be in his contract, if there's any clause in there that would include an increase in salary, that would be it."

[Check back Monday for part 2, which features more on Harbaugh, night games, and John Beilein's transfer policies.]