NittanyFan

February 12th, 2016 at 5:06 PM ^

I'd bet dollars to donuts that a decently sized sub-set non-Michigan B1G schools do not look favorably upon this.

Now, there IS a compromise --- you can take your team off-campus to practice during spring break, but you cannot conduct your practices at a high school.  It can only be at a 4-year University.

The University of West Florida is in Pensacola.  They play D-2 football, so they must have some facilities.  That is a warm place, it's by the beach.  Ditto for Jacksonville University or Stetson (a little further from the beach), they both are in Florida and play FCS-level football.

It is what it is: U-M wants to practice at IMG, as opposed to a place like West Florida or Jacksonville, because the former provides opportunities to connect with IMG coaches, while the latter does not.  

Fair enough.  I get why U-M wants this.  But there's a reason for the opposition, as well.

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FreddieMercuryHayes

February 12th, 2016 at 5:14 PM ^

I'm sure a majority of B1G schools oppose this as well. There are few coaching staffs that want to work as hard a Harbaugh, and will also jump on board to any rule that limits such creativity and work so they don't fall further behind. I think the real thing that settles this will be lawsuits.



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NittanyFan

February 12th, 2016 at 5:26 PM ^

I'm sure Darrell Hazell and Kevin Wilson and Pat Fitzgerald and the like work HARD.  I don't think they are "well, 5 PM, time for me to go home and completely shut down for the 3-day weekend!"

Nobody gets to be a B1G Head Coach by being inherently lazy.

It is what it is: their programs have inherent structural factors that are limitations vs. some of their conference-mates.  It's tough to win there.  Those structural factors can be changed --- but that does take years and even decades.  One does need to have the ability to see things from their shoes, too.

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KungFury

February 12th, 2016 at 6:09 PM ^

1. Whether you oppose or are for this, you can't let a coach in your conference be under fire by other commissioners. You have to take a stance.

2. I don't give a rats ass what the majority of other football coaches think about this. There are TONS of stakeholders in this issue other than football. Almost every other sport has practices, trips, games, etc during this break. And 100% infringe at some point on a students free time. You can't attack one sport over one break and not address the other stakeholders. And an easy way for Delany to make an intelligent point while not taking a stance is pointing this out.



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NittanyFan

February 12th, 2016 at 6:47 PM ^

The SEC is being mealy-mouthed and weasly about it, but their chief motivation is not "protecting the players' spring break."

It's IMG.  

U-M alum Stephen Ross owns 95% of a South Florida NFL facility.  If U-M decided to have spring practice there, and have fun in the free time in the warmth on the nearby beaches, I can't imagine anyone would care.

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m_go_T

February 12th, 2016 at 6:27 PM ^

Not one party opposed to the Harbaugh Spring Break has brought up recruiting as the reason they are opposed.  They keep feeding us this faux outrage about the well-being of the student athlete.  So at the same time two teams in his conference are going through some serious stuff (Tennessee and Ole Miss), Sankey has taken it upon himself to campain on behalf of the student athletes in the Big Ten.  

 

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UM Fan in Nashville

February 12th, 2016 at 4:35 PM ^

There is a perfect opportunity for the B1G commissioner, Jim Delaney, to swing back and swing back hard.   He should 'agree' with this proposal, but take it 2 steps further and request that all collegiate activities be performed only on class days as to not interfere with the true purpose of being a collegiate athlete.   This would include playing football games on Saturdays because the weekends are there for the kids and that freedom shouldn't be taken away.   This also includes New Years day games, any games played after the school semesters have completed, practices, etc.  And the final part of the proposal would be to name it 'The Sankey Rule' so if for some odd reason it does pass, everyone will remember who it was that screwed it all up.  Or if it doesn't pass, it will at least still have Sankey's name on it for the rest of history.
 

Then see how Sankey responds to the true 'intent' of his reasonings.   

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The Bos of Me

February 12th, 2016 at 4:45 PM ^

If Hackett knows who, maybe now would be a good time to name names that offered "inducements" to Gary. At least by conference affiliation. That would turn the heat up a notch.

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cw51

February 12th, 2016 at 4:47 PM ^

Why doesn't the NCAA just encourage Sankey and the SEC to hold practices up North or out West.  It's within the rules and gives every program the same freedom.

I would love to hear the SEC whine about that decision!

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AnthonyThomas

February 12th, 2016 at 6:50 PM ^

It's the same self-righteous southern hypocrisy. It's a regional pastime for the South to fight tooth-and-nail for autonomy unless it no longer serves them. Then they cast themselves as the victim of some overarching inequity and demand that higher powers protect them, oblivious all along to the advantages they gain through a collective commitment to being unethical and insular. It's all there in this instance, as it always has been.

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Kwitch22

February 12th, 2016 at 5:02 PM ^

If they just ban them during spring break, couldn't he take them out of school for a week during class and just bring the tutors? Like baseball, softball, and golf? And thanks for mentioning Coach everyday the one week he isn't working, this Sankey is so helpful.

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DrewGOBLUE

February 12th, 2016 at 5:03 PM ^

Obviously the SEC and ACC people getting all worked up has everything to do with the competitive advantage of protecting their fertile recruiting grounds.

But the fact that they are trying to restrict programs like Michigan from holding practices in their territory, based on the claim that doing so is a detriment to student-athletes, is such a blatant farce that the NCAA would look as inept as ever if they were to side with those southern schools throwing a fit.

And even on the basis of recruiting and the best interests of prospective players, it would favor those kids to have more interaction with schools aside from just the local ones. Then at least they'd be less confined by the SEC and able to open themselves up more to the possibility of receiving a legitimate education.

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LSAClassOf2000

February 12th, 2016 at 5:04 PM ^

“Over and over I have sat in AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) meetings and heard football coaches say we don’t want football recruiting to go the way men’s basketball has gone, meaning, let’s try to anchor to the best we can our football recruiting in the scholastic environment. It’s around education, it’s around people who are supervised by administrators and school boards. That seems a healthy approach for recruiting, not going out to create other opportunities.”

Greg Sankey really seems to believe this line, that the SEC really practices these principles, which is what makes it all the more hilarious. Somehow, this scene from Airplane! came to mind...

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Blue_sophie

February 12th, 2016 at 5:14 PM ^

When I was reading the quotes in the article, I was picturing Sankey having big ass-cheeks for lips, farting out sounds that resemble words. Yeah, it was a horrible mental image, which your comment just degraded to an even more vulger level.

Ugh, time to start a friday drinking thread.

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