The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529264
DECEMBER 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 9 BY ANTHONY BROOME W omen's basketball head coach Kim Barnes Arico started her 13th sea- son with the program by having to pro- cess a surprising amount of attrition that wound up being incredibly hurtful. Following a 20-14 campaign that ended with a loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Michigan lost its leading scorer and star player to the transfer por- tal, and ultimately Texas, in Laila Phe- lia, who averaged 16.9 points per game and was an All-Big Ten selection. It also lost several other players in Chyra Evans (Utah), Taylor Woodson (Minnesota) and Elise Stuck (Ball State). Barnes Arico has gradually built one of the most consistent programs in the con- ference over the last several years, but the offseason bit her for the first time in the new college sports landscape of massive portal departures and NIL inducements. "I was crushed. I was really hurt," Barnes Arico admitted on Oct. 22. "I think everybody that would probably be in that position would be. You develop these relationships and build something. We consider ourselves in this program as builders, and what we do may be different than a lot of other programs. "We're not a program that's based on the transfer portal year in and year out. That's not the University of Michigan. That's not the culture of our university as a whole. We really pride ourselves on building something. And when you come in as a freshman, you're here. And when you leave as a senior, you're here. And the relationships that you build with the players and their families and the people along the way [are important]. "The times have changed, and we ei- ther grow and evolve or we're left behind. I think this is an opportunity for us to learn and to grow and evolve." Michigan's issues in retaining top tal- ent, outside of the football program, have not been limited to women's basketball. Plenty of the other sports have dealt with transfer portal attrition due to NIL. So, how does the country level itself out from all of the changes in roster construction? Michigan's head women's basketball coach doesn't quite know the answer to that. "The thing about everything that's go- ing on in college athletics is it changes by the second," Barnes Arico said. "What happened on April 24 was different than on April 25, than on May 25, than yester- day. It is incredible. I can't even begin to answer those questions. "That's always the goal for Michigan Athletics — to be in a position to compete against the best." Michigan is a name-brand school that has found itself still making adjustments to an ever-changing NIL landscape, and often circumstance create solutions. Barnes Arico discussed some of the col- laboration that has taken place between her program, the athletics department and the NIL collectives. "When [the start of the offseason] hap- pened, it was kind of all hands on deck," Barnes Arico said. "I think everyone has been trying to help and everyone has been trying to wrap their head around really what this looks like and what this is. I think a lot of people really don't under- stand — and I didn't understand. It really had to happen to me at the level that it did for me to really understand what was going on. "We've had some different engage- ments in the offseason, a bunch of differ- ent things that I've been at to try to com- municate that message, whether that's our donors, whether that's our season ticket holders, whether that's the peo- ple in the community to really try to get people outside of athletics, because if it's happening this quick inside, the outside doesn't understand what's going on. So, I think the education piece is very im- portant. "But I think the response from our Michigan people has been incredible. The Michigan brand and the Block M is special. Michigan wants to help Michigan people, and wherever you go in the world, Michigan is there. I think it's just about getting people to understand the land- scape. It's a process, but we're all growing and evolving. "We've got to learn, and we've got to have all hands on deck." ❑ ❱ Inside Michigan ATHLETICS Kim Barnes Arico Takes An 'All Hands On Deck' Approach To Changing Times With NIL And Transfer Portal Barnes Arico said, "I think this is an opportu- nity for us to learn and to grow and evolve," in terms of the U-M women's basketball pro- gram's response to the changing college sports landscape. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS