The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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20 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2022 "We're all concerned about this, and what is happening in this space. We will work to help our student-athletes max- imize their Name, Image and Likeness. "When we had this opportunity, we supported it from the very beginning with Name, Image and Likeness. I'm going to support our student-athletes to benefit from that as much as they can, as much as they want to. "We have student-athletes that are not interested in doing all this stuff. It's not because they're rich. It's not their thing or something they want to do. And some want to do as much of it as they can. "And some do it to the benefit of dif- ferent communities. You look at some of the things that [sophomore quar- terback] J.J. [McCarthy] is doing, that [junior tailback] Blake [Corum] is doing to provide and give back using NIL re- sources. I am touched by that. "That's great! Whether you want to give back, or do something for you and your family, I'm very supportive of that. We will try to help them maximize that. "But we're not going to just give peo- ple money for doing nothing. You have to do something. If it's commercials, if it's tweets, something. It's not hard labor. Whatever it is, we want to help them maximize. "We're hiring a position that's going to be educational but also give some- body to help them grow and develop. We have relationships with the law center, to help look at contracts to help student-athletes who want it, free of charge. We work with faculty in the Ross Business School to put on seminars and help educate our student-athletes. We will continue to do that. "We are looking at a program with Learfield. We have a program with In- fluencr. We have several different ways that things have connected with M- Den. We'll continue to explore and help our student-athletes maximize their full NIL potential, if they're interested." TW: What will be the impact of the Big Ten TV deal for Michigan and the Big Ten? WM: "I think it will be great. The eco- nomics of it are still getting the i's dotted and the t's crossed. It's a big deal. I'm very happy about it for the resources it will really help our student-athletes, and our coaches and staff to grow and sup- port them at a really high level. "But it's not as big as claimed. We're not doubling our TV money in one year. The growth will happen over time. But I'm very happy with what [Big Ten Commissioner] Kevin [Warren], [Big Ten Senior Vice President For Television Media Analytics & Emerging Platforms] Kerry Kenny and our general counsel also have done with the television part- ners we work with to put together the deal. "We're in a very good place for the long term, given where we're set up to be. I'm very, very happy." TW: Your thoughts on Big Ten expansion? WM: "I really like it. It's two great in- stitutions with rich athletic and aca- demic histories. We're adding two of the top schools in the country to the mix of top schools in the country. "Athletically, look at USC and UCLA and all the achievements they've had almost across the board, like many of us in the Big Ten. We're adding two great institutions to great, competitive ath- letic institutions. "It's in a region of the country where we're very strong. In that Los Angeles, California, region, we have a significant amount of alumni based there. They're excited. I've talked to some of them. They're really excited about this, and us coming out there in different sports. "As you know, in many different sports, we already go out there to play. For us, it's been great. I look forward to working with [USC athletics director] Mike Bohn and [UCLA athletics direc- tor] Martin Jarmond. They've been good Jim Harbaugh and the football team hoisted the Big Ten Conference championship trophy in 2021, earning the program's first title since 2004 and a trip to the College Football Playoff. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL