Michigan Athletics Department META: Spring Game

Submitted by Mr. Yost on

Slow board day...so I can go on a brief rant.

Today in Ann Arbor is a high of 71, low of 41 and 0% percipitation. In other words, a BEAUTIFUL day for football.

To the athletics department...PLEASE PUSH BACK OUR SPRING GAME DATES!!

Percipitation is one thing, but the chances that it's going to be significantly warmer is pretty damn good.

Plus, we get to stretch practice out even further - not more practices, but more time between practices to heal and recover. More time to let things learned from the previous practice, "click," so the players can apply them to the next practice.

More time together.

A much better experience for the fans, a better experience for your Athletics staff as well. Mid/Late April is far less hectic than March and early April when you're planning and executing.

Recruiting with all of the recruits from the south and west coast, push the game back and give them some decent weather!

Just do what makes sense, especially in ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN. It's not like we're talking about Miami or Orlando. It's Ann Arbor.

/endrant

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sheepman

April 18th, 2015 at 11:29 AM ^

While I fully agree your points here, there has to be a reason they chose to have it then. That is the beauty of the new staff and AD, if something happens I have confidence there is a good reason. Strange feeling



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Wolverine Devotee

April 18th, 2015 at 11:36 AM ^

Pretty sure it's Harbaugh's choice when spring practice starts.  

Spring games were never a big deal here. We're lucky we got 60,000. The 1997 spring game had 4,000 fans in attendance.

There were 25,000 for the spring game in 1998, months after Michigan won the national championship.That game was held exactly 17 years ago TODAY. Photo from that game-

 

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James Burrill Angell

April 18th, 2015 at 1:49 PM ^

We tend to end a week or two earlier than most Univeristies just as we tend to start winter semester a week earlier than most and go on Spring Break a week earlier. Further as the poster said, the last day of classes is Tuesday and finals start right after but classes that require papers or projects or presentations for a final grade tend to have to finish them last week or last day of classes at the latest. So yes our academic calendar is earlier than most. Never understood why that is. The only explanation someone once gave me was that we try to get two semesters in during the summer instead of one (we do Spring Semester in May/June and Summer Semester July/August)

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BlueBarron

April 18th, 2015 at 12:11 PM ^

I would just like to point out that the Spring of my Freshman year (2011), it snowed in the middle of finals week. It's virtually impossible to predict what the weather is going to be like beause, as you said, it's Ann Arbor.

Speaking of finals, I don't think they would want the kids having football practice in the middle of one of the most important study weeks of the semester.

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LSAClassOf2000

April 18th, 2015 at 1:09 PM ^

I am pretty sure that - in 2005 - we got a small storm that dumper about 4 inches of snow in the Ann Arbor area during the last week of April or thereabouts, and growing up I can recall stray flurries on cold mornings in early May. Of course, I can remember a week in 2000 in March when it was pretty much in the mid-80s every day, and in 1997, winter was more like an extended fall complete with tulips accidentally blooming in the middle of January. This is a very odd weather state sometimes. 

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ppToilet

April 18th, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^

This is Michigan and today is an anomaly. It could just have easily snowed. But going the data driven route:

April 1: Average high = 53 degrees, average low = 33 degrees.

April 15: Average high = 60 degrees, average low = 38 degrees.

Several degrees is not worth pushing things so close to the end of the term. We can wear coats and gloves.

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FreddieMercuryHayes

April 18th, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^

Counterpoints: first is the academic calendar dictates a lot and needs to give time to the athletes and student managers/trainers, etc, time to wrap up school and study for finals. Second, do you really think it's a good idea to have a spring game when half the country is having spring games, especially Ohio State? Having before anybody else also means UM doesn't have to compete for visitors and can get anybody they want on campus almost.



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Perkis-Size Me

April 18th, 2015 at 1:29 PM ^

Considering the staff needed all the time they could get to go out and solely recruit, I'm alright with the early spring game.

Like it or not, they're behind on recruiting. They need a lot of time to catch up.



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Perkis-Size Me

April 18th, 2015 at 3:56 PM ^

If we'd just won a national title we might have that many people at our spring games, too. Beat them on the field when it counts, and we could have no one show up to our spring games for all I care.

Just remember too that OSU is literally all that the state of Ohio has to its name. Browns? Bengals? Blue Jackets? Indians? Reds? Cavs? They all suck, or they wet the bed whenever they make the postseason.



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pearlw

April 18th, 2015 at 5:47 PM ^

Another timing issue is spring break. Both the last 2 years Michigan started with a week of practices before spring break, then a week off for spring break, and back at it. It could be intentional they want to start before...perhaps the coaches like to get a few in and get an initial look and then have a week to plan on what they want to emphasize and adapt to given the knowledge gained in the first couple practices.



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