The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NCAA regional in each of the last four seasons. Third-year head coach Brett Nelligan took over for his father, Bob Nelligan, who led the program for 31 seasons. "I know that they're both very excited to be a part of this," Plocki said. "They both have teams that have qualified for NCAA regional championships. They have not been to nationals. They may have had some individuals that have gone to nationals. "Both of these programs have an opportunity to take off and do very well." Plocki is excited about the opportunity to expand the Big Ten's footprint in gymnastics. "It's also going to enable us to have more exposure out east," she said. "There are a lot of great gymnastics recruiting opportunities in the East, and having the Big Ten market expanded in that direction will be an asset to all of us. I think they're great additions and we're happy to have them." Men's Soccer Men's soccer is another sport that will see an immediate influx in talent, competitiveness and depth with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers. The Terrapins are among the great programs in the country, ranking sixth in all-time national championships with three. They won it all in 1968, 2005 and 2008. Head coach Sasho Cirovski has been with the program since 1993, compiling a 304‑116-29 record and leading Maryland to the NCAA Tournament in 18 of his 20 seasons. The Scarlet Knights have been to the NCAA Tournament Final Four three times — 1989, 1990 and 1994 — and were national runners-up in 1990. Third-year head coach Dan Donigan comes into the Big Ten with a Midwest background, having spent nine years at St. Louis. "You're going to have conversations with kids who want to play in the Big Ten, because the conversation is going to exist, 'Is this the best conference in the country?' The argument can legitimately exist with those two teams coming in," Michigan head coach Chaka Daley said. "It makes it very exciting. You have two programs come in that automati- cally add credibility to an already great league. It makes it a lot more competitive within the league, which is great. "There is no reason why, adding Rutgers and Maryland, you can't have six or seven out of the nine Big Ten teams reach the NCAA Tournament every year. It turns into a situation where you could potentially have a lot of teams competing on a national level. The Big East has 16 teams and got eight in last year. "The ACC, percentage-wise, over the years, has probably been the best conference over the last decade or so getting teams in the NCAA Tournament. Getting great teams in your league is exciting for everyone, because it gives you the opportunity to get better and better seeds." Baseball Michigan head coach Erik Bakich has a unique view on the addition of Maryland. Bakich, who will begin his first year with the Wolverines this spring, was hired from the Terrapins where, in three years, he helped turn a middling program into a 32-win team in 2011. "From their perspective, it's a great move for the university's athletic department, given the financial turmoil over the last few years," he said. "It can really benefit their department and budget. I was happy to see they were able to help their situation by coming to the Big Ten." Rutgers head coach Fred Hill has been with the program for 30 years, compiling a 913-628-7 record and leading the Scarlet Knights to 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament (nine since 2007). Throughout his coaching career, Bakich has earned a reputation as one of the best recruiters in the country — and he sees the expansion eastward as a huge opportunity for the Wolverines. "It certainly increases our recruiting footprint into the Atlantic seaboard," he said. "A lot of very good players that have historically flocked to the South and different parts of the country are from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. And now there's a chance for a lot of those players to make their ways toward the Midwest and hopefully to Michigan. "Any time you can take recruiting to another level and go from sending Baseball head coach Erik Bakich, who came to Michigan from Maryland, thinks the Big Ten's expansion eastward could open up some opportunities on the recruiting trail. photo by lon horwedel letters and making phone calls to actually having those players have an opportunity to watch your team in action is obviously huge. We'll take advantage of that, definitely." Along with Nebraska, the newest Big Ten schools add depth to the league — and Bakich is hoping that will lead to more competitiveness and a bigger profile on the national stage. "Maryland is a school where baseball is definitely on the upswing. To have been a part of that program and elevating the level of recruiting and competitiveness on the playing field, they have a lot of good, young players in that program," he said. "We want the Big Ten to be more competitive and get better at baseball. "It has been a subpar baseball league for too long. With Nebraska and now Maryland and Rutgers and the new coaches who have joined the league in recent years, we need to make the Big Ten a more competitive conference. "It can't continue to be a one- or two-bid league in the postseason, if we're going to get it to the level we need to get it. We need to get it to where there are five or six teams going. That needs to and should happen if we're recruiting and developing our players in the best way we can." ❑ January 2013 the wolverine 69