The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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WOLVERINE WATCH JOHN BORTON a dramatically refurbished football palace. U-M's athletics director can't wait to witness reactions when the $100-million Crisler Center project reaches completion later this year. He can look around and view a D avid Brandon reinvigorated Michigan football, install- ing a results-rich coach into Big Ten championship basketball program, peruse facilities upgrades galore, and see Michigan potentially poised on the precipice of yet an- other golden era in athletics. But if you think he's flipping the sunglasses down, sitting back in ease and waiting for it all to unfold, you're crazy. As much as Brady Hoke yearns for seasons even better than 2011, as much as John Beilein aches for advancement in the NCAA Tour- nament, as much as Red Berenson would love one more climb to the top of the hockey heap, Brandon wants no part of the cruise control button. "Not even close," he assured. "Our goals our very lofty." He's got more facilities to fix and build, not to mention a debt to pay down from work already done. He wants more Michigan programs competing in dramatically redone venues, such as football, basketball, baseball, softball and a host of other sports are now enjoying. Satisfied? Of Michigan's goals, athletics director David Brandon said, "We want to compete. We want to be in the absolute top five, every year, competing for the Directors' Cup." PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN again undergoing upheaval, with new head coach Kim Barnes Arico looking to achieve a level of success unprecedented in that program's history. Their female counterparts are Brandon Is Pleased, But Not Satisfied level," Brandon insisted. "That's what Michigan should be about." As to the golden goose on State Street, 11-2 and wins over Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State and Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl speaks to reestablishment on the national scene. At the same time, the Arroyo Seco in Los Angeles Country hasn't played host to a crew of Wol- verines since Jan. 1, 2007. That doesn't work for anybody, especially Hoke and his boss. "It's been too long since we've been to Pasadena, California," Brandon asserted. "The goal and aspiration of our football program has always been to win the Big Ten championship and go to the Rose Bowl. We haven't done that in a long time. Until we do, we're still playing catch-up." Brandon both loved and hated Hand in hand with that building, he wants to witness results soaring. "We want to compete," Brandon insisted. "We want to be in the abso- lute top five, every year, competing for the Directors' Cup. We want that depth and breadth of the program to show through, competing on a national level in our men's and women's sports. improvements there, we're still not where we want to be. We need to get better at that." "Although we've made some Beilein's boys stunned everybody last year, with Michigan's first Big Ten championship since 1986. They then were stunned themselves in the first round of the NCAA Tourna- ment, leaving room for growth. 8 THE WOLVERINE AUGUST 2012 "Our men's basketball program is exciting, and we couldn't be more happy with the progress we're making," Brandon said. "But we all know, the next step for us is to figure out a way to get deeper into the NCAA Tournament and become more of a relevant competitor on a national basis. the inaugural Big Ten champion- ship game in Indianapolis. He ex- perienced an incredible atmosphere at Lucas Oil Stadium, delivering all the excitement promised when the title contest first became reality. And yet … "Our women's basketball pro- gram is one we have high expecta- tions for. It's got huge upside. We're excited about our new coach and what that program can mean to us." "The investment in the facility and the investment in bringing in a really, really highly respected coach who is a winner, that's an area we see a lot of upside." Coaching changes abound, in- cluding a new baseball boss and one yet to come in women's swimming. With each hire, the man in charge is seeking elite status. "As we make these important de- cisions, we want to go out and work really, really hard to ensure we're bringing people in who have aspira- tions of taking us to that national "I had to go down there and watch two teams play, and my team wasn't one of them. That's my disappointment," Brandon confirmed. "What I like about it is, that's a game we want to be in. It's a great atmosphere. Indianapolis did a great job. It's a great venue. I watched half of it there, and I couldn't stand to be there anymore, so I went back and watched the rest from my hotel room. "It looked great on TV. It show- cased the two division champions in prime time, on national TV. It was great for our conference, and it was a great game. My only problem was, we weren't in it." Brandon wants to be "in it," in every competitive rendering of the phrase. In some respects, he's pleased. In many, many others, he's standing on the accelerator. ❑ Editor John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@comcast.net and follow him on Twitter @JB_Wolverine.