Rodriguez on hot seat

With the Michigan Wolverines set to kick off the 2010 season, the seat couldn’t get much hotter for head coach Rich Rodriguez.

He has struggled in his two years at Michigan, and that’s not counting the number of violations his football team has committed.

If you thought the school’s boosters had a short fuse with previous head coach Lloyd Carr, they really have a short timeline for Rodriguez to get things turned around.

If significant improvement does not come about this year, you can expect Rodriguez to be looking for a job in December or January. (Read More…)

Saturday, September 4, 2010 at 9:41 am by steve

Tags: Michigan news, Michigan schedule, Michigan tickets

Woolfolk out for season

Michigan Wolverines cornerback Troy Woolfolk will miss the entire 2010 season because of an ankle injury.

He has already undergone surgery to repair the ankle and is expected to return as a fifth-year senior in 2011.

The injury occurred during practice and Woolfolk was immediately taken to an area hospital.

It’s a huge loss for Michigan because he started every game last year and was expected to be the veteran of an inexperienced defensive backfield. (Read More…)

Friday, August 27, 2010 at 12:57 pm by steve

Tags: Michigan news, Michigan schedule, Michigan tickets

Michigan sanctions itself

The Michigan Wolverines have imposed sanctions on themselves after admitting violations with their football program.

The NCAA had been investigating a number of allegations, including that the team was practicing for longer than allowed by governing body.

Michigan is hopeful that by imposing their own sanctions, the NCAA will no take any action or will go easy on them.

The school said it will limit the amount of practices and coaches allowed at workouts over the next few years.

It also fired coaches and sent a letter of reprimand to head coach Rich Rodriguez for his actions.

Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 5:42 pm by steve

Harris to enter NBA Draft

Michigan Wolverines guard Manny Harris has announced his intentions to enter the NBA Draft.

Harris came into Michigan with high expectations as one of the players that would lead a turnaround in the program.

The guard played fairly well, though inconsistenly, but didn’t do enough to put the Wolverines back on the map.

He led the team by averaging 18.1 points per game this year, but Michigan ended up going just 15-17.

Harris is projected to be a late second-round pick or not be drafted. He could return to school if he does not hire an agent.

Saturday, April 3, 2010 at 7:24 am by steve

Michigan falls to Ohio State, 21-10

The Michigan Wolverines fell again in their biggest game of the year, losing to the rival Ohio State Buckeyes, 21-10.

The score looks a lot closer than the game really was, as the Wolverines were never a threat to take home a victory.

Michigan trailed 14-3 at halftime and gave up a touchdown to the Buckeyes in each of the first three quarters.

The Wolverines did cut the deficit to 11 by the end of the third quarter, but were held scoreless in the final frame.

It’s a tough loss for proud Michigan fans to swallow, especially with the team clinching its second straight losing season.

Thursday, November 26, 2009 at 12:09 pm by steve

Michigan President Sidesteps Practice Questions

Michigan University president Mary Sue Coleman avoided the media on Thursday after a Board of Regents meeting, one where an internal audit of the football program’s practice schedule was to be discussed.

Coleman slipped through a door after the meeting was adjourned, and Michigan spokesman Kelly Cunningham said that Coleman would not speak about the ongoing NCAA investigation about whether Michigan exceeded the allotted weekly practice times last year.

“She supports the coach and she supports the football team,” Cunningham said.

Earlier this week, Michigan released the results of an internal audit, which embarrassingly revealed that the school did not keep track of football athletes’ Countable Athletically Related Activities last season.

While coach Rich Rodgriguez does not fill out the forms himself, he did rectify the situation after learning that they had not been filed by late July. They are not required by the NCAA, but the logs are part of the school’s compliance process.

“The only thing I can tell you is that the log process for those forms was corrected as soon as I learned of the issue,” Rodriguez said. “Anything else, I’ll refrain from talking about because I have to.”

Friday, November 20, 2009 at 8:30 pm by bryan

Michigan Fails to Track Players’ Workouts

On Monday, the University of Michigan released details of an internal audit that noted that the football program had failed to file monthly Countable Athletically Related Activities forms (which track how much players work out and practice) last season, coach Rich Rodriguez’s first as head coach of Michigan.

The audit was completed months ago, but the details didn’t leak out until this week.

“The regular season forms still have not been submitted,” the office of university audits wrote to Rodriguez in a letter dated July 24. “All other varsity sports submitted their CARA forms timely.”

The school submitted offseason forms after the audit was completed in May, meaning that the forms had not been reviewed at the time of the report.

Michigan said they would investigate coach Rodriguez’s practice procedures after a report in the Detroit Free Press cited anonymous football players saying that they were greatly exceeding the amount of allocated practice time allowed by the NCAA.

The NCAA also began looking into Rodriguez’s training regiment last month, and plans to complete its investigation of the school by Dec. 31.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, continues to try to right the ship of a Michigan team that started 4-0 this season, but has since lost six of its past seven games. If the Wolverines can’t upset Big 10-leading Ohio State on Saturday night, this will mark the second straight year that Michigan fails to qualify for a bowl game – a shock to Michigan fans, who enjoyed a consecutive postseason run of over three decades.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 12:07 am by bryan

Michigan falls to Purdue, 38-36

The Michigan Wolverines showed a lot of fight but it wasn’t enough in a 38-36 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers.

The two teams exchanged leads numerous times throughout the game before Purdue took control in the fourth quarter.

Michigan rallied back to give themselves a chance for the tie, but could not convert on the two-point conversion.

The frustrating is really starting to boil over in Michigan, as fans have had about all they can take of the struggling team.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez is definitely on the hot seat and needs some wins down the stretch to keep his job.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 2:32 pm by steve

Michigan falls to Illinois, 38-13

The Michigan Wolverines hit a new low in their season in a 38-13 loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini.

The Wolverines actually took a 13-7 halftime lead and seemed like they might have recovered from last week’s embarassing loss to Penn State.

However, much like last week, Michigan fell apart after putting together a solid first half performance.

The defense gave up three touchdowns in the third quarter and another 10 points in the fourth while the offense was shut out in the second half.

The loss is drawing the ire of Michigan fans and has head coach Rich Rodriguez back on the hot seat.

Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 8:42 am by steve

Michigan AD to Step Down in 2010

Michigan announced that athletic director Bill Martin will retire on September 4, 2010.

Martin became the Michigan AD in 2000 after serving as president of the United States Sailing Association. He was brought in first on an interim basis to replace Tom Goss.

The coaches and faculty of Michigan spoke out on Wednesday to reflect on the career of their soon-to-be departed AD.

“What he’s done facility-wise and fiscally for the department has been amazing. It’s going to be sad to see him go,” said football coach Rich Rodriguez, who was hired by Martin in 2007. “I certainly appreciate everything he’s done for us since I’ve been here.”

“For nearly a decade, Bill has shown truly outstanding leadership as Athletic Director at the University of Michigan,” university President Mary Sue Coleman said in a statement. “He has not only done a superb job of attracting top coaches for the full range of Michigan sports, but he has also assembled an excellent management team to oversee all aspects of athletics operations.”

Coleman announced that Martin would remain director until Michigan has named his successor, and he will remain a special adviser to Coleman until his retirement.

Friday, October 23, 2009 at 12:04 am by bryan