January and directly after that season was a pretty crappy time to roll it out, so I was nothing less than relieved when they got some experts involved.

Strategy has them holding off (they get to have edits wherever they want) at a minimum until the NCAA makes a decision on Patterson. That does two things, 1) it keeps Michigan more in normal school mode- the NCAA being what it is, is more likely to say no to a Shea move to a primadonna school that just went celebrity gosip on them (even though they okay'd the concept to begin with)(trust me, you haven't seen athletic directors the SEC over complain in mass to the NCAA about Michigan's tactics like you will when a quality show featuring behind the scenes with Michigan footballers gets released and makes kids the country over want to go there), and 2) it provides a compelling narrative for a two season series if there's a potential good ending.

Amazon is really only hooked into producing it if they can get at least two seasons out of it. (Similar to what they did with Arizona). Yeah, they were willing to do just the one on a limited budget, but it could be a lot better, which means better for the university (more footage to pick from, better quality video, an actual narrative and amazon marketing). Now? They have the pain, the emotional rebuilding, and the get back to work offseason.

Assuming Michigan is predicted by the pundits to have a breakout year next year, which they might buy more readily if Shea and Calvin Anderson are available, it gives Michigan a bit more negotiating leverage to help build a brand improving image type series rather than a "season with the simpsons". Coincidentally that's also Michigan's desire. Michigan is doing this series because 1) its better than letting Ohio state do it, and you can bet your ass that's who was going to be asked if we said no, 2) they have some control over the product, and 3) its an incredibly powerful potential recruiting tool as high school kids watch more tv than any of us and believe all of it, and if Michigan can show that something special, it will go a long way towards getting top kids interested in that school. (A big point here for the MgoBlogger's is as far as Michigan is concerned, its for the kids, not us. As far as Amazon is concerned, its for potential viewers in general). All that's null and void if season two is another 8-5 though. 

I actually see them holding off on season one until mid August when people are starting to get football hungry, and doing season two one week at a time, during the actual football season and for maximum viewing interest. Nobody rolls out a football movie or show during the spring/summer months. Late august and continuing also keeps it fresh in recruits minds, and yes, this could blow up spectacularly, but that's what the university pays its top branding people for. It could also bring about a more golden recruiting age. 

If you don't buy any of that, you can at least verify that its not happening for the next few months because Amazon doesn't even have it listed under their "coming soon" section, and they have their February lineup released.