The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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12 THE WOLVERINE ❱ DECEMBER 2024 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS U-M REVEALS NEW BASKETBALL LOCKER ROOMS Months after the Michigan football team unveiled its new locker rooms within Schembechler Hall, the men's and women's basketball programs opened their upgraded facilities in the leadup to the 2024- 25 season. The $10 million renovation, which focused on energy efficiency and water conservation, was fi- nally shown to the players in both programs on Oct. 21. The project was funded entirely from private donations. Some of the new features include a personalized locker room area with updated screens and lighting, a player lounge with gaming chairs and access to Xbox and PlayStation systems, a fueling station for player nutrition, dedicated film and recovery rooms, and much more. "It's what you think of when you think state of the art," graduate men's guard Nimari Burnett said in a video released by MGoBlue.com. "There's a bunch of space. I see why they had to move stuff around to reconstitute everything around here." Michigan was due for an upgrade with its last set of tweaks coming more than a decade ago, and both teams will feel the benefits on the recruiting trail. "The most obvious answer is recruiting," men's head coach Dusty May said. "To have a place that pops and looks clean and nice … For us internally, it allows us to do our teaching and meet the players in their space. Whether we want to show them clips and film or just talk to them, it gives us room and a place that's very comfortable for them so we can do what we need to do to help them." Both the men's and women's locker rooms have similar features, and players believe they will play a key role in the teams' success moving forward. "It's super cool. I've been in the old locker room for three years, and we had it for 12 or so," senior women's guard Jordan Hobbs said. "It's just a really cool unveiling, and it's going to go down in history with a lot of celebrations in here." SOFTBALL REVEALS 2025 SLATE Head coach Bonnie Tholl and the Michigan soft- ball program announced its 2025 schedule on Nov. 7. The slate includes 56 regular-season games, with 12 contests set to take place at Carol Hutchins Stadium this spring. The schedule also includes 14 games against eight different teams that made the NCAA Tourna- ment last season, including a pair of new Big Ten opponents in Oregon and UCLA. U-M kicks off its season at the USF Tournament, set for Feb. 7-9 in Tampa, Fla., which has recently become a program tradition. The Wolverines have opened the season at South Florida every year since 2013, excluding a conference-only campaign in 2021. During its five-game trip, it will play Flor- ida, a Women's College World Series team last season that U-M faced twice in 2024, winning both games. The schedule also includes trips to SEC foes Geor- gia (Feb. 13-15) and Missouri (March 14-15) in addition to spending its 10-day spring break from Feb. 27 to March 8 in the state of North Caro- lina, playing in tournaments at NC State and UNC Greensboro while playing single games against Duke, North Carolina and East Carolina. The Big Ten schedule begins with a neutral-site series against Maryland and Wisconsin from March 20-23 in Oklahoma City (home of the WCWS) be- fore the Wolverines open their home schedule against Western Michigan on March 25, with Mich- igan State then coming to town a few days later (March 28-30). Other home series include Rutgers (April 12-14) and UCLA (April 26-28). Michigan went 43-18 last season, winning the Big Ten Tournament title and advancing to the NCAA Regional Final in its second season under Tholl. 'NO BAG POLICY' ANNOUNCED AT CRISLER, YOST ARENAS Starting on Nov. 1, U-M Athletics implemented a "No Bag Policy" at Crisler Center and Yost Arena in time for the winter sports seasons. "All bags (including purses and fanny packs) are prohibited from being carried into Crisler Center and Yost Arena starting Nov. 1," the release stated. "Fans are encouraged to bring ONLY necessary items to games at Crisler Center. All subjects and items are subject to search. Please email guestser- vices@umich.edu with specific questions." U-M says it will provide exceptions for fans that have medical needs or childcare items, such as prescriptions, diapers and other items at its discre- tion upon entry. Guests can speed up the process by requesting approval of their items before the game using a special permission form, which will be reviewed by 3 p.m. the day before each contest. Approved items will be tagged at each entry on game day. — Anthony Broome MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK Michigan unveiled its $10 million renovations to the men's (above) and women's basketball locker rooms on Oct. 21. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS