The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1351834
10 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2021 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS WARDE MANUEL: MICHIGAN ATHLETICS NOT CONSIDERING CUTTING SPORTS The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench into col- lege athletics, like it has to many aspects of our world. Many schools around the country have cut non-revenue sports teams within their athletic departments, with the Associated Press reporting that 51 Division I teams have been discon- tinued due to the pandemic's impact on budgets. The U-M athletics department has estimated that it could face a budget deficit of up to $80 million during the current fiscal year. Twenty-one jobs within the department were slashed last fall, due to the burden of not having fans in the stands and games being canceled over the past year. But director of athletics Warde Manuel made it clear that U-M hasn't even considered getting rid of any of its teams. "It hasn't been discussed at all for us," Manuel said on a Zoom press conference with local reporters March 9. "Our priority is having all 29 sports, and then we support cheer and dance, so we add another couple of teams to that. "We have not had any discussions about cutting any sports here." DENARD ROBINSON RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE TOP COLLEGE FOOTBALL QBS OF THE 2000S Former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson (2009-12) was recognized in ESPN.com writer Bill Connelly's list of the top college football quarterbacks from 2000 until pres- ent day. Connelly tabbed Robinson at No. 47 out of the 60 named to his rankings. "Maybe the single best moment of the Rich [Rodriguez] era at Michigan was signing Robinson, who captured fans' imagina- tions and averaged more than 2,000 passing yards and 1,300 rushing yards over his last three seasons," Connelly wrote. "We're used to stats like that now. We weren't a decade ago." The Deerfield Beach, Fla., native was a dynamic athlete for the Wolverines, having been a three-year starter and a four- year contributor under head coaches Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke. A dual-threat quarterback, Robinson ranks sec- ond in program history in career rushing yards (4,495), third in rushing touchdowns (42) and fourth in carries (1,702), while his 6,250 career passing yards rank fifth all time. He completed 57 percent of his pass attempts and threw for 49 touchdowns (fourth in program history). It's also worth pointing out that former Wolverine signal- caller Chad Henne (2004-07) was notably left off the list. NAZ HILLMON NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE YEAR; FOUR TOTAL WOLVERINES HONORED Michigan women's basketball junior forward Naz Hillmon was named the Big Ten Player of the Year following the regu- lar season, becoming the first Wolverine in program history to earn that honor. She was also tabbed as a unanimous first-team all-conference choice by both the coaches and media, joining Katelynn Flaherty (2016-18) as Wolverines to earn three career consensus All-Big Ten first-team nods. Hillmon averaged 25.1 points and 11.3 rebounds per game during the regular season, and shot 64.5 percent from the field. She ranked second in the conference in scoring and field goal percentage, while leading the league in rebound- ing, double-doubles (12), offensive rebounds (4.9 per tilt) and free throw attempts (148). On top of Hillmon's recognition, junior guard/forward Leigha Brown was named to the All-Big Ten second team by both the coaches and the media, fifth-year senior guard Akienreh Johnson was tabbed to the All-Defensive team by the league coaches and senior forward Hailey Brown was recognized as U-M's sportsmanship honoree. FORMER WOLVERINE ALEC PANTALEO WINS GOLD MEDAL FOR TEAM USA Former Michigan wrestler Alec Pantaleo (2015-19) showed out at the Matteo Pellicone International in Rome, Italy, in early March. Pantaleo topped Daulet Niyazbekov of Kazakhstan — a silver medalist at the 2019 World Championships — at 70 kg twice, 6-4 and then 4-0, to become the first of what would be nine gold medalists for the U.S. during the weekend. Pantaleo was a three-time All-American at U-M and posted a 92-32 career record in college. — Clayton Sayfie MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK Robinson ranks second in U-M history in career rushing yards (4,495), third in rushing touchdowns (42) and fourth in carries (1,702), while his 6,250 career passing yards rank fifth all time. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN