Jim Harbaugh on Hugh Freeze: "That is not a kindred spirit to me."
By now we all know the major battles and campaigns in the Great Satellite War of 2016, so there's no point in rehashing the nitty gritty. Let's just get to the good stuff.
Jim Harbaugh spoke with Sports Illustrated's Michael Rosenberg for his inevitable postmortem profile (Harbaugh has uncharacteristically avoided the topic on Twitter) and his comments were not the fist-clinched optimism of someone who's going to change the system, but the gritted-teeth dejection who now realizes the system is the system for a reason.
"It seems to be outrage by the SEC and ACC," Harbaugh said. "They power-brokered that out ... the image that comes to my mind is guys in a back room smoking cigars, doing what they perceive is best for them. It certainly isn't the best thing for the youngsters. It's not the best thing for the student-athletes."
More Harbaugh:
"During the NCAA basketball tournament we discuss the term 'student-athlete' ad nauseam in promoting our governing institution and our member institutions. Then, when we have an opportunity to truly promote the 'student-athlete' with a concept shared by educators and football men from all backgrounds, our leadership goes into hiding.
"I suggest we drop the term 'student-athlete' for consistency."
The head Wolverine saved his kill shot for Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze, who celebrated Friday's ruling by saying, "I'm away from my family enough, and I just did not want to go."
Harbaugh's response: "You've got a guy sitting in a big house, making $5 million a year, saying he does not want to sacrifice his time. That is not a kindred spirit to me. What most of these coaches are saying is they don't want to work harder."
Michigan and Ole Miss are not slated to play this season, but the SEC and Big Ten are contracted to the Citrus, Outback and TaxSlayer bowls.
