The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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22 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2017 making in what's available for our student-athletes to be great students and great athletes. That will be tre- mendously enhanced." For the future, Michigan will look toward the State and Hoover area it- self for upgrading, Manuel advised. While indicating specifics aren't avail- able yet, he gave a sense for the goals to be pursued. They involve everything from bol- stering the Stephen M. Ross Academic Center to taking care of a long-stand- ing volleyball venue and dealing with a time-honored track soon supplanted by the South Campus version. "Since the academic center was built, given the number of students, number of teams, it has quickly be- come too small for the numbers we have," Manuel said. "We have some needs that we're looking at, ways that we can address it, but nothing in terms of plans to roll out at the present time. "Cliff Keen Arena is an older facil- ity that has needs to be addressed, or needs to be addressed through a smaller arena." Michigan has done a strong job of renovating the old and building the new in weaving together excellent fa- cilities throughout the athletic cam- pus, Manuel stressed. "You're always looking to make things better, improve, making sure we're taking care of our facilities and doing the things we need to do," he said. "You look at a place like Yost that was built in 1924, but still is going to be around for a long time. "We're building things not only for now, but making sure we take care of the future. Michigan's history has re- ally been a strong focus on doing that and doing things the right way. "I looked at old photos from back in the late '20s, when Yost and Crisler were being built. Our baseball sta- dium is still in the same location. Michigan football and where we prac- tice has been there for decades, almost a century. "You look at these things, and that history, and as I sit here, as the 12th AD, you want to move it forward and protect, and make sure those assets are taken care of for the university. "I look at what we have, and it's really exceptional, what we're provid- ing for our student-athletes and our coaches to prepare and train and com- pete for success in athletics." ❏ Michigan director of athletics Warde Manuel came away from the 2016-17 campaign with no shortage of conver- sational fodder, especially when asked about his highest-profile squads. Here is what he had to say on Michigan foot- ball, basketball and hockey in particular: The Wolverine: What are your thoughts on the job Jim Harbaugh has done to this point? Manuel: "I think the world of Jim Har- baugh — as a coach, as a person, as a leader of our football team. He's com- piled an outstanding staff of coaches and staff in support of the team. "They have an ability to recruit great students and athletes to this university. I give him a lot of credit for the types of kids he and his staff are bringing in here, in terms of the strength they have academically and athletically. "He's done an exceptional job in the two and a half years he's been here. I'm excited about his leadership, the leader- ship of those coaches, the leadership in the team, this year and in the future. I'm excited about Michigan football, and Michigan athletics, and the leadership and the visibility that football brings to the entire athletic department and what we do. "He's been tremendous to work with. He will tell you he's got some work to do this year, only returning six starters. But there's not a better person I would have in the leadership position, given the challenges ahead, than Jim. "He's phenomenal and works really hard. That's the thing people don't see as much — the amount of effort Jim and his staff really put into being great and driving that success." The Wolverine: Can the football home games with Ohio State and Mich- igan State ever be separated into differ- ent seasons? Manuel: "What I was able to find out since arriving and having the conversa- tion is that with the addition of Rutgers and Maryland, it had been determined, based on the scheduling parameters, that they would schedule out until 2032 through the current scheduling model. "Which means that we're not going to see it go back to Michigan State one year and Ohio State the next, until we revisit what the scheduling model will look like after 2032. Michigan State and Ohio State will both be home one year and away the next year. Warde Manuel Takes On Various Topics Manuel says because of the limited number of returning starters, there is no coach in America that he would rather enter the 2017 season with than Jim Harbaugh. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN