The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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12 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2023 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FOOTBALL'S 2024 SHOWDOWN WITH TEXAS GETS A LOCATION SWAP Michigan football's future nonconference schedule appears to be heading for a change. Reports from Pete Thamel of ESPN on Feb. 9 indicate that the locations of the home-and-home se- ries with Texas have been switched to facilitate the Longhorns' and Oklahoma's move to the SEC a year early. Thamel said that the location flip was critical for Texas and OU being let out of their Big 12 obligations before 2025. FOX Sports, the primary rights holder of Big Ten broadcasts, had to sign off on the move, and the Texas/Michigan location swap was their condition for it to happen. That means that Texas is coming to Ann Arbor in 2024 for ar- guably one of the biggest nonconference showdowns ever at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines were previously set to host Texas in 2027, but will now head to Austin instead. As of now, it appears the 2025-26 series with Oklahoma is untouched, with Michigan heading to Norman in 2025 and hosting in 2026. The nonconference schedule is set through 2025 currently, but news on 2026 should be available sometime this year. So far, only the home date with the Sooners is set for that year. Regarding the near future, Michigan will play all three of its nonconference games in 2023 at home, with East Carolina (Sept. 2), UNLV (Sept. 9) and Bowling Green (Sept. 16) coming to town. It is the second straight season without a Power Five opponent, which will no doubt be the subject of criticism at Michigan despite other elite programs doing the same. Michigan will host all three of its nonconference games in 2024 assuming the Texas switch goes through. Fresno State kicks off the slate on Aug. 31, followed by the showdown with Texas on Sept. 7 and Arkansas State on Sept. 21. The Wolverines will have a bye on Sept. 14 and another bye in conference play. New Mexico comes to Ann Arbor to kick off the 2025 season, followed by a trip to Oklahoma on Sept. 6 and a home date with Central Michigan on Sept. 13. — Anthony Broome HOWARD REACTS TO FORMER TEAMMATE LEBRON JAMES' SCORING MILESTONE Michigan men's basketball head coach Juwan Howard spent 19 seasons in the NBA, including the latter part of his career with the Miami Heat and forward LeBron James. The two have always had a strong connection, which made James passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time scoring leader on Feb. 7 something Howard spoke of fondly. "I stayed awake for that," Howard said after Michigan's win over Nebraska on Feb. 8. "What a special moment for a special person. We all talk about, 'Who's the greatest player? LeBron or MJ? Or Kobe?' "Let's really admire and appreciate what LeBron brings to the game. To be 18 years old. Called 'The Chosen One.' To follow that up with the work. Being dedicated to the game. Being dedicated to improving. Investing in yourself. Playing the game the right way. Sometimes when he gets stomped on because he's made the right play, and everyone thinks he needs to shoot the ball every time he gets it. "LeBron is a gift. A gift to the game of basketball and to the fans. I am so happy that I've got a chance to witness something that I thought would be tough to do. The points never really mattered to him. What mattered to him most was serving the game where he is inspiring young men to play the game they love. He's doing it in a winning way. So to be able to go to the finals eight to 10 years in a row. Also win four, with three different teams. That's hard. I know how hard it is because it took me 15 [years]. I won it with him. How special is that? I'm so proud of him." Howard and James played together with the Heat from 2010-13 before Howard retired, becoming an assistant coach for head coach Erik Spoelstra. The two spent a season together in 2014 in the player-coach dynamic. Howard left Miami for the Michigan job during the spring of 2019. — Anthony Broome MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK The Wolverines were originally set to host the Longhorns in Ann Arbor in 2027, but will now do so on Sept. 7, 2024. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN