AppleFritters4Life

August 27th, 2023 at 2:15 AM ^

Because if we don't do something this season, once they re-open the case after the season, they will dish out suspensions for next year.

 

I think we all can agree that serving the self-imposed suspensions this year vs ECU, UNLV, and Bowling Green is a much better option than next year vs Fresno St, TEXAS, and Arkansas St.

 

Does it suck? Yes. Biting the bullet for something stupid always sucks but sometimes you have to just do it and put it behind us. That is all this is about.

Buy Bushwood

August 27th, 2023 at 9:11 AM ^

Tressel was getting 5 games for lying to the NCAA in multiple affidavits about not knowing that star players were selling memorabilia who would have been suspended for the Rose Bowl, and instead letting them play.  Harbaugh 4 games (then 3) for buying a cheeseburger for recruits making their own trip to campus.  One actually affected the outcome of a huge football game witnesses by 10's of millions of people.  The other........?  A little asymmetric punishment?

GLORY

August 27th, 2023 at 6:28 AM ^

This was not known.  Similar to Harbaugh's, this is again self-imposed vs proposed (four games for Harbaugh and one for Moore), which was rejected by the NCAA.  Again, another magical chess move by Warde as he continues to play footsie with the NCAA hoping to "soften the blow," while further pending penalty remains.  So fucking dumb.  By contrast, Tennessee committed over 200 violations including 18 Level 1s, and their punishment was 5yr probation, 8million dollar fine and vacated wins in '19 and '20 (dog shit years for them, so irrelevant)- no suspensions, no post-season bans.  Please punish us by vacating our wins in 2020.

I wish Warde keeps his mouth shut land et this play out and see if the inept NCAA bastards can prove it.  Regardless, bottom line...our punishment does not fit the supposed crime.

JonnyHintz

August 27th, 2023 at 8:57 AM ^

I wish Warde keeps his mouth shut land let this play out
 

I do find it ironic that the complaint about Warde up to this point has been that he doesn’t speak up enough and is too slow to act. 
 

Now here we are in a scenario where UM committed violations and the NCAA is preparing to hand down sanctions and Warde is getting in front of that by self-imposing some sanctions to lessen (or erase) any future blows. I think we’d much rather get this out of the way right now with a veteran team against a couple cream puffs than next year with a younger roster and Texas on the slate. 
 

and see if the inept NCAA bastards can prove it.

Here’s the problem. The NCAA is the prosecutor, the judge, and the executioner here. They don’t HAVE to prove anything, and this is not a court of law. If you’re expecting Michigan to take this to a court of law and make a massive spectacle of all of this, I don’t know what to tell you. Michigan’s lawyers will advise strongly against that, even if Michigan would have a good shot at winning the case. 
 

Are the NCAA and their punishments dubious and subjective? Absolutely. But, that’s a massive case for UofM to undertake against a massive organization over what amounts to a rather irrelevant punishment. IMO, for any case against the NCAA to be worth the effort it would require a class-action lawsuit of sorts. I just don’t see it as realistic for UM to take the NCAA to court over a suspension where we DID commit violations. Regardless of the fact that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime.
 

Not to mention, and this is a big one… a decision of that magnitude is not something that Warde Manuel has any say in. That would rest solely on Santa Ono and the regents. Warde can’t sue the NCAA on behalf of the school. So criticism of Warde here is pretty misplaced. 

grumbler

August 27th, 2023 at 10:29 AM ^

Here’s the problem. The NCAA is the prosecutor, the judge, and the executioner here. They don’t HAVE to prove anything, and this is not a court of law. 

This is true, and on top of that, Michigan has conceded that these violations occurred (indeed, it self-reported almost all of them).

If this eventually boils down to a lawsuit next year (most likely Harbaugh suing for restraint of trade), Michigan and Warde are going to be sitting pretty, having already gone more than out of their way to meet the NCAA's requirements for sanctions due to rules violations.  At every turn it has been the NCAA that has spurned reasonable compromises.  That sort of advantage for Michigan will count in the eyes of the judge/jury in the event of a trial.

Warde's handling this extremely well, except in the eyes of those who don't understand the situation.

JonnyHintz

August 27th, 2023 at 10:55 AM ^

The only violation Michigan/Harbaugh haven’t admitted to, is the lying/misleading an investigation. Level II violations that Michigan HAS admitted to, almost never result in suspensions. So in that sense, Michigan HAS gone above and beyond the NCAA requirements and has put UM in a good position.

What happens next will ultimately come down to how hard the NCAA wants to pursue that Level I violation they tacked onto the end. But these internal suspensions should go a long way to putting that to rest as well. And as you mentioned, Harbaugh personally may have a strong case against the NCAA. But those expecting Michigan to fight the NCAA on violations that Michigan admits occurred, are dreaming. 

MGlobules

August 27th, 2023 at 11:05 AM ^

Warde's the AD, target for criticism of anything adverse that Michigan faces. He's not a blowhard, not a blusterer of the SEC type. He plays his cards a little bit close. All of this makes him kind of a big target. I'm not gonna like all of his decisions--he works for the institution, not me. But the criticism here is. . . just pretty much a Rorschach test. Anything happens, a third of people will foam about Warde. We have no idea what the chain of decision-making was here, who formulated the response to what is, clearly, a stupid and moving target. If these moves put the shit to bed with the shitters, what more do we really want? Sometimes it's better to give the asshole who pretended to find a hair in his hot dog a few bucks and move on. . . keep your dignity and energy for bigger, better things. This year is one where we could win it all--did we really want to spend it swirling in bogus controversy and hype? Watching Pete Finebaum smirk?

The least appealing guy in any room is the one who complains continually that they're a martyr. Yes, M has gotten shafted several times because we fessed up to relatively minor--comparative--indiscretions. But you really want Warde out there whining in the media? Do people really even know what they want from Warde? (Other than to whine themselves?) 

JonnyHintz

August 27th, 2023 at 11:15 AM ^

Right. I certainly don’t agree with everything Warde does. But many have called for him to give the NCAA a big middle finger here and take them to court. None of us “know” how these decisions came to be. But let’s just think about this logically here for a second…

Warde is the head of the athletic department and the athletic department alone. Does anyone truly believe he has the final say when it comes to taking on the entire NCAA and dragging the entire university through a massive court case? Doesn’t that sound like something he’d have to run by his bosses? 
 

We’re talking about Michigan facing suspensions and sanctions here. Are we really under the assumption here that Warde and Santa haven’t been in extensive discussions over the best course of action here? That the University’s lawyers haven’t been consulted? That the regents haven’t been briefed? 
 

There just seems to be a general misunderstanding about how much power Warde really has here. Sure, he’s the guy who has to announce it and his position makes him a target for criticism. But let’s be serious about this. Warde’s hands are tied here and they’re honestly making a pretty wise decision in all of this. 

TheJuiceman

August 27th, 2023 at 3:30 PM ^

Per usual. But don't tell all the MGoAthleticAdministrators and MGoWannabeAttorneys that. It's "Warde's" fault. Kind of bizarre how it almost always boils down to that, to some mfs who know precisely jack shit about the nuances of his position or what's being said behind closed doors. Bizarre but unsurprising. 

GLORY

August 27th, 2023 at 5:07 PM ^

Warde:  We'll admit to Level 2 violations and propose four game suspension for Harbaugh and one game for Moore

NCAA:  No

Warde:  In that case, we'll self-impose to three games for Harbaugh

NCAA:  Crickets

Warde:  Wait, upon further review, we don't believe the previous penalty was enough.  How about another self-imposed one game suspension for Moore?  Does that suffice?

Irrational.  Why are we self-imposing penalties as if we violated Level1s, just to see if "going above and beyond" will soften their stance when in fact they declined the worse penalty that was proposed?  Is the second announcement of self-imposed penalty Warde's genius intentional move (upon further review) that I'm not seeing?  Further, will we have more announcement upon "more further reviews?"  Bad optics.  We're treating as if committed some serious crime here.  And if the pending penalty is realized next year, well...we'll look extremely foolish.

 

JonnyHintz

August 27th, 2023 at 6:51 PM ^

Kinda weird you’re having a make believe conversation in your head as if that’s what happened and that’s the discussion being had. You have absolutely no clue what is going on behind the scenes (neither do I) so it’s pretty foolish to jump to conclusions here. All we can do is look at this logically. Warde isn’t just handing out suspensions Willy-nilly. He isn’t handling this without consultation from Santa Ono, the regents, and university lawyers. Would be pretty strange for the NCAA to place your school under investigation and the AD is the highest ranking official involved in the response. 
 

The NCAA didn’t simply “decline” the proposed punishment. They said they’ll continue their investigation and the case will go to the COI next summer. At which point, all information gathered AND the self-imposed punishment by UM will be taken into consideration and a final determination will be made. That doesn’t mean they were going for a harsher punishment than initially proposed, nor does it mean that’s what they’ll arrive at. Simply means the NCAA didn’t want to conclude their investigation and wanted to gather more information before deciding on a punishment. 

GLORY

August 27th, 2023 at 8:24 PM ^

I don't believe I'm far off based on the information available.

Is it logical to admit to Level 2 violations but self-impose penalty to Level 1, given how the NCAA handled (or mishandled) other programs for far more egregious violations?  Why two separate announcements if we have our shit together and our due diligence is so thorough?  Doesn't this lack attention to detail and pause you to wonder what else?  

JonnyHintz

August 28th, 2023 at 5:44 AM ^

Two separate announcements because it’s two separate investigations. The NCAA investigation into the Level II violations are largely over. They’re investigating Jim for a separate Level I violation. 
 

Is it logical to admit to Level 2 violations but self-impose penalty to Level 1, given how the NCAA handled (or mishandled) other programs for far more egregious violations?

 

Considering the NCAA is going to punish you whether you admit to the violations or not and they’re essentially telling you they plan to throw the book at you… yea it seems pretty logical. 

MaizeBlueA2

August 27th, 2023 at 7:40 PM ^

I literally explained why they're doing this last week.

How do some of you still not understand. 

Okay, if nothing else...just take these two points and trust that people smarter than you are making these decisions. 

Point 1: Michigan has a national championship caliber team.

Point 2: The NCAA could make Michigan vacate wins by saying we had coaches coaching who were ineligible (not likely, but hey, it's the NCAA).

This isn't the driver of these decisions, but just so you all *feel* better...just tell yourself that Michigan is doing this to avoid vacating wins and vacating a national championship...and then move on with life.

MaizeBlueA2

August 27th, 2023 at 7:33 PM ^

Newsome will be suspended for a game as well. Likely game 2.

 

It also didn't take a rocket scientist to see that they made Herbert and Jack Harbaugh coaches...but only Jim Harbaugh was out.

That would've put us over the coaching limit.

Moore will sit a game (with Jim) and Grant will sit a game (with Jim). Jack and Ben Herbert will be official sideline coaches.

Not sure what happens in Game 3, and then everything goes back to normal in Game 4.

JonnyHintz

August 27th, 2023 at 7:35 PM ^

where did you hear that? Everything I’ve seen says he’ll avoid penalties entirely. 
 

making those guys “official coaches” doesn’t mean they’ll be on-field coaches. Biff was the associate head coach the last two years at Michigan and wasn’t an on-field coach. Herbert, as S&C coach, is already allowed on the sidelines. I’d assume one of them fills the vacant spot for Jim, but the new titles do not inherently mean they’ll be on-field coaches. 

RobM_24

August 26th, 2023 at 9:55 PM ^

They need a sponsor for the suspensions. A rare missed marketing opportunity by the Athletic Department. 

"The University of Michigan Athletic Department, Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics Warde Manuel,  and J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh have determined that Donald C. Graham Offensive Line/Sanford Robertson Offensive Coordinator Sherrone Moore will serve an Arby's Classic Beef N' Cheddar one game suspension"