Michigan Players Allege NCAA Violations
Michigan football players have alleged that the program has violated NCAA rules that limit how much time a team can spend training and practicing.
"We know the practice and offseason rules, and we stay within the guidelines. We follow the rules and have always been completely committed to being compliant with all NCAA rules," (Coach) Rich Rodriguez said.
Here's a better rundown of the allegations:
In-season football activities that far exceeded the 20-hour-per-week allotment from the NCAA. Players said they often spent nine hours on football activities the days after games -- the NCAA mandates a four hour daily limit.
Offseason workouts that lasted two or three times longer than the eight hours per week allowed. Though players are voluntarily allowed to work out as much as they'd like, the allegations suggest the Michigan training staff required such a commitment from its players.
Members of the team's quality control staff were present for 7-on-7 drills during the offseason, which violates NCAA rules. Only trainers are allowed to attend these workouts.
The time demands on players negatively affected their academic performance.
Several current Wolverines freshmen spoke openly to the Free Press about daily workout regimens that violated NCAA rules.
Players were forced to sign NCAA forms stating all rules had been followed and not informed the school's compliance department of any violations for fear of punishment from the program.
Ever since Rodriguez took over, the program has been a mess. I know they were changing systems, and lost a lot of players, but Rodriguez took a proud program to potential NCAA violations. My sister attends University of Michigan. So I'm a fan. She's not really a football fan. But, her first year, they made it to the Rose Bowl. It's been downhill from there. Michigan has to look itself in the mirror: Do they want to be seen as a downtrodden program? Or do they want to start over, with a new coach, and return to Big 10 glory?
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