SEC Commissioner Doubles Down, Officially Asks NCAA to Ban Spring Training Practices

The OP is misreading the article when he says this:

This morning, he officially asked the NCAA to make Jim Harbaugh stop.

It wasn't this morning. Sankey contacted the NCAA Football Oversight Committee two days after National Signing Day, which was last Friday. So that happened before he spoke out earlier this week. I think it's the DetNews headline that's misleading because it implies the opposite.

Just to be clear, here's the opening paragraph in the article:

Two days after National Signing Day, also the day Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh publicly revealed his plans to take his team to Florida during spring break for four practices, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey asked the NCAA Football Oversight Committee to quickly review Harbaugh’s spring plans.

Did he confirm that the SEC will start holding their football games on Friday to give them time to study on weekends?  Until he does that he has no standing.

Lets take a long term approach to this from a recruiting standpoint.  IF, and it is a big IF, taking a football team somewhere nice over spring break for some practice and fun is truly detrimental to the student-athlete AND the student-athletes know that this is an annual thing that they want no part of then they will not likely commit to said school.  Especially kids with many alternatives which most, if not all, of UM recruits enjoy.  At which point, one of two things happens:

1.  Recruiting declines due to this practice and the coach scraps the trip to ensure high quality recruiting classes year after year.

2.  The coach keeps going on the trip and eventually hangs himself with his own stupid-rope.

Either way this thing works itself out on its own without the help of the NCAA.

Now, lets assume the kids actually benefit from such a trip.  More kids want in on the program and talk about how great it is and recruiting actually benefits from a spring trip.  How, under the premise that this is about student-athlete welfare, could the NCAA stop the practice?  Except that it is the NCAA and they do very little that makes sense.

Regardless, there is absolutely no reason for anyone to step in.  Over time the kids will determine if this is a good idea or not.

Not to mention the fact that most every major college football program on the planet has unspoken expectations about how much work their players are going to put in over spring break. 

Edit:  oh yeah...Fuck the SEC

He can ask until the cows come home. It's not gonna happen. Not when every other Varsity sport does the same thing. 

Harbaugh found a loophole. 

doing about sexual predators, under the table payoffs, and phony medical scholarships in the SEC???

Equal treatment for all sports - men's and women's.   Most of the spring sports have matchs/tournaments during school breaks, even SEC schools.  Can't discriminate against one sport or set of athletes.

Keeping it on the front page during the off season.  The savings from all the free publicity, greatly offsets the cost of sending the team south.

Forde has an article over on Yahoo sports defending the same position and the comments section is quite telling of the national reaction.  The SEC is getting slammed in a majority of the comments.

Give it a rest. 

When the team steps off the airplane in Florida, it's going to look like the Beatles coming to America in 1964.

There is going to be so much media attention, the SEC's head will spin.

When they go to the beach, when they go to a put putt course, there will be a media entourage that follows them everywhere.  They will be Rock Stars.

Thanks for the free, and massive, Michigan publicity, Sankey.

Would Sankey be this concerned if Michigan held spring practice over spring bread in Ann Arbor? No, of course not. He might even say it was smart to have the practices when classes were not in session.

Does the SEC ban it's members from holding spring ball during spring break?

If SEC teams don't want to practice over spring break then they don't have to.  If players don't want to practice over spring break they won't go to a school that does like Michigan.

Can't we just make it an academic field trip?  You know, take a day to study the ecology of the everglades, or the keys?  After all that work anyone would want to unwind with some sports.  Maybe some beach volleyball...or even football.  Oh and make it co-ed.

Does Jim Delaney have Harbaugh's back?   Will Warde or Jim Hackett make a call to the NCAA to lobby?   The SEC will pull out all stops.  Michigan needs to build up their corner fast.  Its all about politic$

Fuck it, U-M should just open their own academy in FL.  If that's not feasible, gather up a few wealthy alums and create one. Hang a massive block M flag and tell the SEC to pound sand.

Then file an immediate lawsuit. There aren't a few powerful Michigan alum lawyers out there running around that could eat these guys for breakfast?

After thinking more about this - can someone check Delaney for a ball sack?  Dude is a puss so far.

Unless it is illegal and with the prior precedent of tennis and baseball teams heading to warm weather for spring practice, doubt the NCAA will do much.

Still remember that the NCAA had to be taken to court to lose their battle to limit assistant coaches salaries - amazing it even got into a rule - with so many laywers there one would think they would know the US Constitution.

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/05/sports/colleges-assistant-coaches-win…