The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Beilein leading that team, and you have a great nucleus coming back that you can build on and go into the season with high expectations of success." Manuel does take a firm stance that when a student-athlete has gradu- ated — such as in the case of guard Spike Albrecht — he or she shouldn't be prevented from going to another school, even in the Big Ten. "What we want is for a student- athlete to feel like they want to finish their fifth year here," Manuel said. "In one case in basketball, plans got in the way. In anticipation of those plans being in the way of Spike con- tinuing and having a spot here … he's moved on. "In that sense, I don't want road- blocks in the way of our student- athletes here or across the country — I don't think we should be putting roadblocks in their way." He also chooses to let hockey coaching icon Red Berenson direct his own way, and Berenson recently announced he'd be back for another season on the whistle. "Coach wants to take it on a year- to-year basis, and I'm comfortable with that," Manuel said. "He's had a lot of great success here. I love Red Berenson and all that he means to the University of Michigan and Michi- gan hockey. "He is going to lead this program. I want him to be here as long as he feels that he can continue to drive the success of Michigan hockey." Manuel, meanwhile, wants to be here as long as he's an athletic direc- tor. He knows the times are good and looks to make them better. ❏ Michigan Strong In Directors' Cup New Michigan Director of Athletics Warde Manuel inherited a department residing at No. 3 in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings. The new boss would certainly like to see the Wolverines jump up one more spot, at the very least. That's because No. 2 is occupied by Ohio State through the final winter rank- ings. Stanford again appears to be a runaway No. 1, with 1,102.50 points, fol- lowed by the Buckeyes (868) and the Wolverines (782.50). Efforts in the gymnastics' arena for both men and women gave Michigan a boost in points over the winter. Kurt Golder's men's team wound up No. 7 in the final NCAA rankings with Bev Plocki's women's team coming in at No. 13. Coming out of the winter, the Big Ten appeared particularly strong in terms of all-around athletic prowess. Four of the top five in the Directors' Cup standings hailed from the conference. In addition to Ohio State and Michigan, Minnesota held down the No. 4 spot (718.25) and Penn State the No. 5 position (667.50). The Wolverines are a lock to score big in softball this spring, Carol Hutchins is presently guiding the nation's No. 2 crew. How Michigan's other spring squads perform will have a big say in U-M's finish. — John Borton