The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS I'm quite certain we were — out of 18 teams in the Big Ten last year — in the bottom five. And I'm quite certain we're going to be in the top five this year, so that's a very nice jump in one year, for a lot of reasons. We've gone from being the Royals to a team that should be at least in the ballpark of the Dodgers and Yankees. "Last year, I don't know who was the lowest [in the Big Ten], but we had a very, very mod- est budget last year. I felt like our guys were grossly underpaid across the board. And the budget doesn't always equate to winning, but it typically does." — Michigan basketball head coach Dusty May on where U-M stood in NIL last year versus this coming season With respect to the distribution of the revenue share, our department is taking the approach of sharing those monies with our revenue generating sports, football and basketball, as well as providing some funding for volleyball and ice hockey. Football is the program that leads our revenue generation and carries a large portion of the weight for the financial health of our athletic department fol- lowed by basketball. Distribution models for revenue sharing will evolve over time and may include additional teams and top performers in a range of programs." — Athletic director WARDE MANUEL 12 First-round NBA Draft picks over the last 13 years for Michigan basket- ball, the most among Big Ten teams, with big man Danny Wolf being the most recent, selected No. 27 overall by the Brooklyn Nets this summer. UCLA is second in the confer- ence with 10, but none of those players were drafted while the Bruins were mem- bers of the league. Indiana and Washington are next up with seven. 92 Is the overall rating for gradu- ate safety Rod Moore in the EA Sports College Football 26 video game — the highest among Michigan players. He was one of four Wolverines to make the top 100 players in the game, joined by senior edge Derrick Moore (91 overall), graduate offensive lineman Giovanni El-Hadi (91) and graduate defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny (91). $6 Million Donated by boosters Matthew and Nicole Les- ter to support the Michigan football program's costs tied to maintaining the newly renovated players' lounge inside Schembechler Hall. The Lesters wanted to recognize the 2023 Col- lege Football Playoff National Championship team and are doing so by naming the players' lounge area "The Team 144 Players Lounge established by the Matthew and Nicole Lester Family." The barbershop inside the lounge will also be renamed "Mike's Barbershop," after two-time captain Mike Sainristil. 15 Points and 10 rebounds for Michigan basketball sophomore forward MOREZ JOHNSON JR. in Team USA's 109-76 victory over Germany in the gold medal game of the FIBA U19 World Cup in Lausanne, Switzerland. The 6-foot-9, 255-pounder played in all seven games for the event, averaging 9.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 18.5 minutes. He posted a pair of double-doubles — against Australia (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Germany (15 points, 10 rebounds). PHOTO COURTESY USA BASKETBALL 1 Michigan football player was tabbed as first-team All-American by Walter Camp Football: senior kicker Dom- inic Zvada. The Bakken-Andersen Big Ten Kicker of the Year last season, Zvada was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2024. He also was tabbed as first-team All-American by Sporting News and second team by the Associated Press. Zvada drilled 21 of his 22 field goal attempts in 2024, with 7 made kicks from 50-plus yards — setting both single-season and career program records. Personal goal for me is to be the Big Ten Player of the Year. I want to come here and leave my mark, and nothing less than a Final Four for me. I feel like we have the team to get there, and even more. That's going to be what we're shooting for." — Michigan basketball graduate forward YAXEL LENDEBORG on goals for the 2025-26 season AUGUST 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 17 PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL