Men's Rowing article in the Daily
http://michigandaily.com/content/toiling-obscurity?page=0,0
Pretty incredible what these guys can accomplish with the resources that they have. I know a few of the guys on the team and can say that they are definitely some of the most dedicated athletes I've known.
February 25th, 2011 at 1:00 AM ^
That's good stuff right there. I like these extended team coverage columns the Daily puts out from time to time, because they really cover all the angles well when they do so. Now that Lacrosse has recently made it to varsity status, rowing will probably step up their efforts to make it to varsity status. I don't know much about the politics of the situation, but at long as we dominate Ohio State in another sport, I'm all for it.
February 25th, 2011 at 9:17 AM ^
I had a really surreal experience last spring break involving the rowing team. I had flown to Chattanooga and was driving back north on I-75 towards my final destination, and pulled off at a tiny little Subway in a tiny little town in the middle of rural Tennessee... I walked in, and the entire rowing team was sitting there, including one guy from my English class.
I always see Wolverines when I'm travelling, but that was just crazy. We're everywhere.
February 25th, 2011 at 9:25 AM ^
"While completing these demanding workouts and competing at an elite level, most of the rowers are also competing at a high level in the classroom. The team’s grade point average is a 3.3, an impressive feat considering that roughly half the team is enrolled in the School of Engineering."
Specifically this little tidbit. Keep it up boys.
February 25th, 2011 at 9:51 AM ^
I love rowing and I love and am proud of Michigan Crew, but I'd rather not see them go varsity. Title IX would mean the team would have to at least halve its current numbers. It's not worth giving up those kids' experiences and Michigan's status as head and shoulders the best club team in the country so once every 3-5 years the V8 can medal at IRAs.
February 25th, 2011 at 3:53 PM ^
There has been a plan floated around to build a core V8 squad that would enable Title IX compliance without adding an equally large team, and surrounding it with the club program for the other boats so as to allow the team to remain competitive.
Having rowed for four years at Michigan, immediately before the IRA kicked us out - yes, it would be worth it.
February 25th, 2011 at 6:10 PM ^
I'd be really interested to see exactly how that would work. Would student athletes be able to move freely from one team to the other? I can't imagine varsity would be able to compete with the heavy hitting programs without a roster of at least 20 kids. But letting kids freely move from varsity to club varsity seems like a compliance nightmare.
February 25th, 2011 at 2:04 PM ^
I have a huge amount of respect for the rowers at Michigan - both men and women. They put a TON of time and work into their sport. No stupid NCAA practice restrictions here like football. And being a rower myself (Ann Arbor Rowing Club) I can tell you that it's a tough, gruelling sport at the competitive level. Those 2K tests on the rowing machines (ergs as they're called) are killers. Let me also say, if you want a great workout and to lose weight - take up rowing. But anyway, I think it should be a priority of Brandon's to find a way to make this a varsity men's sport. It's a crime that a team this good is not varsity. If Wisconsin and Ohio State can have men's varsity rowing teams, why can't we? Title IX is pretty much the obstacle. This reminds me of a humorous story. A few years back, Bo was at some event where there were some Pioneer H.S. girls with letter jackets, and he asked them what sport they were in. And they told him rowing. Bo get's really excited and goes on to say how much he loved rowing. The reason being when he was AD he found out he could get a couple 8 boats + coxwains of women rowers (18 all together) and only have one coach. That would help make it a lot easier to balance the Title IX ledger of men athletes/coaches!