Michigan Football On Two Years Probation After Announcing Self-Imposed Sanctions

Today, the University of Michigan announced self-imposed sanctions, including two years probation, for the allegations that the football team and its coaching staff had violated NCAA practice time regulations. The other sanctions include the following, from Mgoblog:

All in all, this is hardly the giant spectacle the Detroit Free Press tried to unearth in February, as the University Record indicates. (Emphasis is mine)

U-M found no evidence of student-athlete abuse, nor any evidence that its employees disregarded student-athlete welfare. This is in stark contrast to early media reports.

Brian (at Mgoblog) continued to go off on the Free Press (as if his Jihad series wasn’t enough):

If newspapers cared about truth in reporting as much as the university does about its compliance with NCAA regulations, everyone involved with the story would be looking for a new job.

My take: I’m not at all surprised that the initial report the Free Press published was largely hyperbole. As Mgoblog’s “Jihad” tag suggests, the Free Press has taken a “we may go down, but you’re coming with us” mentality in their reporting of Michigan football as of late. While some of that may stem from the fanbase’s divided opinion of Rich Rodriguez, I think much of it has to do with the fact that the newspaper business is going under. Exaggerating a breaking story on the biggest name in college football was a shot in the arm for a dying industry. Regardless of the fact that this turned out to be extremely overblown, the Free Press has gained another foothold in southeast Michigan, and beyond. The next time they report a story, people will listen because of what happened here.

Overall, the actual sanctions themselves won’t amount to much. Cutting out 130 practice hours in 2 years seems like a lot, but considering how much time these guys put into this team, it’s just a small slice of the pie. Many of the team’s mandatory offseason workouts will likely now become “voluntary,” cutting out a huge chunk of the hours they owe.

While the NCAA still has to review Michigan’s case again in August, the sanctions U of M announced are likely all we will see. Mgoblog also has a rough transcript of the press conference with athletic director David Brandon and head coach Rich Rodriguez.