What We Learned: Things about to get worse for Michigan
A turn for the worse
For those who think Michigan’s slide since September has hurt coach Rich Rodriguez in Ann Arbor, it’s about to get much, much worse.
The Detroit News reported that the Michigan program in 2008 failed to file required logs used to keep track of how many hours players practiced and worked out. An internal university audit revealed the CARA (countable athletically related activities) logs—which the university uses to stay in compliance with NCAA rules—were missing.
The NCAA, of course, is investigating allegations made by players that Rodriguez and his staff worked players beyond the NCAA’s 20-hour limit. The missing logs won’t bode well for Rodriguez—with the NCAA or the university. Connect the dots, and it starts to look ugly for Rodriguez—a lot worse than the six losses in the last seven games. When he left West Virginia two years ago, he and his staff were accused of shredding player personnel documents. Here’s the problem: In his contract with Michigan, it specifically states that if Rodriguez commits an NCAA violation, he can be fired for cause. And that means Michigan owes him nothing.
Now how big does the Ohio State game look? Win, and the joy of beating your rival for the first time since 2003 salves the wounds. Lose, and Rodriguez might not make it to his third year in Ann Arbor.
SportingNews.com
11/17/9
Magnolia Tribune
