The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/111015
������ inside michigan athletics The Wolverine: It���s been a while since Michigan has been on this stage. What are your thoughts on seeing this climb? Rice: ���It���s about patience. Coach [John] Beilein has done a tremendous job of trying to keep everyone calm and letting them know that the storm will soon be over. He has done a tremendous job of recruiting and getting athletes in here who are capable of bringing us back to the level we are now. It���s good, although we���ve always bragged about Michigan, even through the bad times. Because we���re proud.��� The Wolverine: Was it hard to watch through those lean years? Rice: ���No, it wasn���t. We have an unconditional love for Michigan. It���s really easy to be there and cheer when they���re winning. But we wanted to make it easier when they were losing, because that���s when they needed us most.��� The Wolverine: How do events like this help reconnect the past eras with the current program? Rice: ���It���s tough, because as a former player, you want to come back and do whatever you can to support your program. In the past, that reach hasn���t always been there. One of the things that Beilein has stressed to all the former players is that, we need to bring it back to the way it used to be. And he can���t do it by himself. He needs all of us as a collective group, and now it���s up to us to give our time and get back here and do the right thing.��� The Wolverine: As an alumnus, how important to you is it that they are reaching out now? Rice: ���It���s important. It shows the appreciation. And don���t get me wrong, I was going to be in their faces whether they wanted me there or not. I am just that much of a Michigan fan. I want them to be successful, so you don���t need to twist my arm.��� ��� Andy Reid Maize And Blue Notebook Changes Coming ��� With the addition of Maryland and Rutgers in 2014, the Big Ten will play nine or 10 conference football games the league announced Feb. 11. The league will make a final decision this spring, but has definitively taken eight conference contests, the norm since 1985, off the table. ���The thinking is we like to play each other, and those are not hollow words,��� commissioner Jim Delany told the Chicago Tribune. ���We are getting larger, and we want to bind the conference together.��� A nine-game conference slate will create an imbalance in scheduling, with teams rotating between five and four home games every other year. The Big