The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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20 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2019 revamping efforts over the past couple of decades to ensure the Wolverines are fully ready when they hit the field. "Every aspect of it is being utilized — the training room, the nutrition area, the new strength and conditioning ar- eas, the physical therapy, water ther- apy, to prevent injuries," Manuel said. "All of that is open, and the equipment room has been in operation. It's just finishing touches now." The $14.8-million project — reno- vating 24,000 square feet of space and adding an additional 8,000 square feet — represents the latest push in a mas- sive facilities overhaul at Michigan since the late 1990s. Manuel is justifi- ably proud of new football's building. "Everything is beautiful," he said, smiling. "I would put our facility against any facility in the country, in terms of the different ways areas we have to support our student-athletes. In essence, that's what that building is about — providing them with the resources to help them drive success. "That's what we do with all our fa- cilities on our athletic campus. They're to make sure our student-athletes have what they need to succeed and many of the things they want to succeed." Michigan's swimmers feature a sto- ried history of success, and their needs are among those getting a long look for the not-so-distant future, Manuel assured. "Canham [Natatorium] does need, particularly in the locker room area, to be freshened, new," he offered. "We have some plans we're looking at for Canham, potentially, down the line, in the next handful of years. That is definitely one that I would see having some work done to it in the next three to five years." Michigan is also considering, over the same time frame, the addition of another academic center, this one in- cluding a dining area. To some degree, U-M student-athletes have outgrown the Stephen M. Ross Academic Center on State Street, according to Manuel. "In 2012-13, there was talk of adding a dining facility to the academic center we have now," Manuel noted. "The problem there is, the academic center we have now — which is one of the projects I worked on when I was here initially — was put in place when we had 650 or 700 student-athletes." Today, Michigan has 950, and the building is not large enough to serve their academic needs, much less add a dining hall. "That's why we're looking at the possibility of building a new academic center with a dining facility," Manuel said. Men's gymnastics and volleyball are two more varsity sports due for facili- ties attention at some point. The good news there is the list looks so much shorter than it used to, according to a grateful AD. "I'm thankful for the decisions that [former directors of athletics] Bill Mar- tin, Dave Brandon and Jim Hackett made," Manuel said. "I'm proud of what my predecessors did to elevate the facilities and prepare and help our teams have what they need to be suc- cessful. "Bill really started that process and that discussion. Dave then took it and put his own touches on it. Jim did a little bit, and then I'm coming in and have ideas — in listening to my staff, our coaches and the student-athletes — about what is needed. "It's a great place to be in, when you just have to maintain facilities, but you also have to pay for them. Our debt service is going up, but other than that, it's great to have these facilities that we just have to take care of so that they last for a long time." ❏ Michigan's new Football Performance Center includes the largest single-sport weight room in college athletics. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY