The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL ger and more important. More net- works are being formed by confer- ences. More money is coming to the table through those mechanisms. If a program is out there that is being highly subsidized by an institution — and there are still a whole bunch of them that fall into that category — they're going to be immediately attracted to any opportunity to hook onto a deal that's bigger and better than the one they have. "There is going to be this natural, magnetic appeal, because so many of these athletic programs are losing money." That's not the case with Michigan, he pointed out. Michigan athletics, though, represents the exception rather than the rule in this area. "Some people may want to take for granted the situation we're in, be- cause we've figured out a way to get our revenues a little bigger than our costs," Brandon said. "But over 80 percent of the athletic departments in the country are losing money every year, and that's double-digit millions of dollars, on the average, that are be- ing subsidized. When redshirt junior fullback Joe Kerridge first arrived at Michigan in 2011, he knew he'd be playing football, but wasn't sure about his major. He was inter- ested in kinesiology, and is enrolled at the School of Kinesiology, but one of his teammates actually helped him make his final decision. "I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to do something in the business world," he said. "[Redshirt junior quarterback] Russell Bellomy was actually with me when I was scheduling classes, and he tipped me off to sports management, so I really looked into that. I thought it would be a really cool major." Kerridge, now in his second year in the upper level of his sports management program, feels the decision was the correct one. "It's going really well going into my second year, and I'm loving all of my classes — the marketing and business side of sports is what I want go get into," Kerridge said. A two-time All-Academic Big Ten performer, Kerridge admitted things weren't easy when he first started the program, which is ranked one of the top five in the country by Ehow.com. "It was a challenge at first, coming from high school, and trying to transition to the college courses," Kerridge said. "But once you get into the upper level, it's re- ally cool, and you learn your craft. It doesn't try to weed you out so it's been very interesting, and fun throughout the whole process." With his football and academic obligations, Kerridge wasn't able to obtain an Student-Athlete Of The Month Redshirt Junior Fullback Joe Kerridge