The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/116680
inside michigan athletics Sitting Down With Athletics Director Dave Brandon Michigan athletics director Dave Brandon talked with The Wolverine about the basketball team, head coach John Beilein and the program's bright future: The Wolverine: What has it been like to watch this program grow over the last several seasons? Brandon: "It has been tremendously rewarding to see the program advance. You can measure that in a lot of different ways. I am really proud of the staff that John has put together. They all work Of his expectations, Brandon together so well. To watch how cohesive they are said: "What I charge the as a staff has been terrific. coaches with is the respon"And then the recruiting pipeline. To see the sibility of building a program. kids that we have brought here and the ones That means consistency, committed to come here are really a step up, and regularly competing for chamit puts us in a position to perpetuate the trend pionships, creating a pipeline lines that we have established. of student-athletes who can "And obviously, the infrastructure has been a come in and perpetuate the big part of it. People are excited, and we're selling success." photo by lon horwedel out the building and creating an atmosphere to give us a true home-court advantage, which, for a long time, wasn't the case here. Having the fan support is a terrific step forward." The Wolverine: When you first got here, head coach John Beilein had been here for a little while. Some people were still on the fence about what he could do. When you first met with him, what were you impressions? Brandon: "When you look at John's résumé, you see a tremendous amount of experience and an uncanny ability to turn programs around. And that's what Michigan needed. I got a sense for the kinds of young people he likes to recruit. He's very selective. "I remember learning that he had been selected by his peers as the chair of the ethics committee, and that says a lot. Meeting him and seeing how he coached these kids and how selective he was in recruiting and seeing the culture he was creating in the locker room, convinced me that he was absolutely the right man for Michigan." The Wolverine: You rededicated Crisler this season after the renovations. There have been a lot of special moments this year. What are some that stand out in your mind?