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You see your favorite Big Ten teams' uniforms and practice gear, but you probably don't often give much thought to where they originated.

But that's become a big issues for several Big Ten teams and their apparel provider, adidas. ESPN.com's Kristi Dosh reports that multiple schools across the country are cutting ties or questioning their deals with adidas because of concern over workers' rights in Indonesia. Those schools include Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin, along with future Big Ten school Rutgers. Nebraska and Indiana are also outfitted by adidas.

Dosh writes:

"The issue revolves around the closure of PT Kizone, a factory in Indonesia with which adidas, along with Nike and the Dallas Cowboys, had contracts for the manufacture of goods. According to a report produced by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), violations at PT Kizone began in September 2010 when it failed to make mandatory terminal compensation payments to employees who left the factory. In December 2010, the factory failed to make regularly scheduled payments to current employees. The owner of the factory then fled Indonesia in January 2011. Thereafter, the buying agent, Green Textile, ran the factory and paid workers through March 2011. In April 2011, PT Kizone was declared bankrupt and closed.

"The WRC, United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) and other worker rights advocacy groups claimed adidas was refusing to pay $1.8 million in legally mandated severance owed to the 2,800 workers of PT Kizone. Total severance and other pay due under Indonesian law to the workers, who had no advance notice of the factory’s closure, totaled $3.3 million. Both Nike and the Dallas Cowboys contributed partial severance, but for nearly two years, adidas has maintained it does not owe any of the monies."

The story says Wisconsin has sued adidas and that Penn State has suspended its contract with the apparel giant. Rutgers has already terminated its deal with adidas.

But the big one here is Michigan, which according to the story, has the largest college sports contract with adidas, worth more than $60 million. Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman has been requesting frequent updates from adidas on the Indonesia situation. It would be huge news if the Wolverines, one of the most iconic brands in college sports, suddenly became a free agent for apparel rights. (Of course, some would argue that adidas deserved to be fired for this monstrosity, or this, or this.

Anyway, it's an interesting story, and one that might get you thinking a little more about where your favorite teams' uniforms originate.

Big Ten spring meetings take place Tuesday-Wednesday in Chicago. I'll be on hand throughout, so be sure and check the blog for updates.

Onto the links.

• Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman admits the school made the wrong call in hiring RichRod. Wolverines coach Brady Hoke reminisces about Bo Schembechler.
• Iowa athletic director Gary Barta favors increasing the bowl eligibility requirement to seven victories.
• Former Nebraska running back Aaron Green is transferring to TCU. Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman hasn't shied away from talking athletics during his tenure. The Lincoln Journal Star looks at Nebraska's most memorable touchdowns, from 1 yard to 100.
• Texas A&M edges Nebraska to host an ESPN "College GameDay" commercial.
• The system is the star at Wisconsin, which will make it easier to replace some star power, SI.com's Andy Staples writes.
• Ohio State's shift from quarters to semesters will impact the team's preseason preparation. Tom Herman's recruiting connections in Texas have put Ohio State in the mix for some top prospects.
• A look inside Bill O'Brien's offensive playbook at Penn State.
• A Michigan State verbal commit could be swayed to stay and play at home in Texas. Another Spartans recruit draws high marks at the Elite 11 tryout.
• Illinois quarterback recruit Aaron Bailey is a humble star. Illini fans can meet coach Tim Beckman this week.
• Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany needs to get over his SEC obsession, David Climer writes.
• Former Michigan State star Jerel Worthy calls Wisconsin's offensive line the best he faced in college. Former Wisconsin center Peter Konz is bringing back the "Dirty Bird" to the Atlanta Falcons.
• Juco defender Randy Gregory remains committed to Purdue. Boilers great Jim Carter, he of "Touchdown Twins" fame, died last week at 100.
• BTN.com's Tom Dienhart breaks down Northwestern's 2012 schedule.

The Big Ten downplayed Nebraska's ouster from the Association of American Universities this spring, and the league continued to roll out the red carpet for Big Red during its transition to the league.

There wasn't much the league could do, as Nebraska was just two months away from officially entering the Big Ten.

But the importance of AAU membership didn't waver for the Big Ten's academic leaders. It's very fair to ask whether the Big Ten would have admitted Nebraska had the school lost its AAU membership before June 2010.

Now there's this: according to a Lincoln Journal Star report, two Big Ten schools apparently didn't think Nebraska belonged in the AAU.

Nebraska failed to garner the 21 votes it needed last April to remain in the Association of American Universities, a confederation of more than 60 top research institutions that collectively nets more than half of all federal research funds and awards more than half of the doctoral degrees in the nation. It was confirmed that UNL fell three votes short.

Emails and letters obtained by the Journal Star after a series of open-records requests indicate that Wisconsin and Michigan did not support UNL during its turbulent and unsuccessful AAU membership review earlier this year.

Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman wrote in an April 11 email to his vice chancellors that the school "lost two Big Ten colleagues -- Wisconsin and Michigan." The voting was secret, so Perlman couldn't confirm whether Wisconsin and Michigan opposed Nebraska, but after trying to garner votes from AAU members during a meeting in Washington, the chancellor certainly held that belief.

Carolyn "Biddy" Martin, the former Wisconsin chancellor who voted on Nebraska, since has left to become president of Amherst College. Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman remains in her role.

"It's not fair to say Wisconsin voted against Nebraska," Perlman told the Journal Star. "It's the president of Wisconsin, who is no longer the president of Wisconsin, and the president of Michigan."

Perlman said he didn't feel betrayed by the Wisconsin and Michigan administrators.

"I guess I was disappointed," he said.

The story provides many more details about Nebraska's departure from the AAU, but the Big Ten connection is notable, if nothing else. Perlman not surprisingly downplays what allegedly happened, saying he's "not concerned at all" and is "moving forward."

ESPN.com recently received a copy of the Big Ten's Form 990 tax return for the fiscal year ending in June 2010, the most recent data available. While there are no major surprises in the records, reviewing the tax return illuminates the league's financial state.

The Big Ten reported $232,403,651 in total revenue for 2009-10 fiscal year. That's up from $221,990,529 -- an increase of 4.5 percent. The conference reported $217,721,387 in revenue from 2007-2008.

The Big Ten reported $236,899,518 in total expenses for the '09-'10 fiscal year

Each Big Ten school received in excess of $20 million from the league, with the exact amounts varying. Michigan State received the most at $20,141,838, followed by Ohio State ($20,083,504) and Purdue ($20,080,504). Northwestern and Iowa received the least at $20,032,504 each, though they're not exactly clipping coupons.

In all, the conference paid out $220,620,959 to its member schools during the fiscal year. Schools received just over $19 million each in the previous fiscal year.

The form also shows that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany was paid $1.623 million, making him the highest paid commissioner in college sports, as has been previously reported. Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee might have had a tough year off the field, but he was paid $2,531,327 for the fiscal year cited. Penn State's Graham Spanier was the second highest-paid Big Ten president at $813,855, followed by Michigan's Mary Sue Coleman at $786,849.

The Big Ten's Form 990 for the 2010-2011 fiscal year will not be available until next spring.

We'll start off with Ohio State stuff and go from there.

Hope you have a great weekend.

• The father of Ohio State linebacker Storm Klein threatens legal action against Sports Illustrated, colleague Joe Schad reports. The father of Buckeyes defensive end John Simon isn't pleased, either, Tim May writes in The Columbus Dispatch.
• More trouble for Ohio State's compliance department as a November audit raised concerns, Jill Riepenhoff and Mike Wagner write in The Dispatch.
• Former Buckeyes linebacker Brian Rolle tells colleague Jason Smith he once was offered a car while playing for Ohio State (and turned it down).
• Ohio State students continue to support Jim Tressel, Erin C. Perkins writes in The Dispatch. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor remains a hero in his hometown, Branson Wright writes in The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer.
• Former NC State quarterback Russell Wilson will visit Wisconsin next week, Tom Mulhern reports in the Wisconsin State Journal.
• Joe Paterno isn't just on Skype, but he's telling recruits he could coach four more years, Cory Giger writes in The Altoona Mirror. Penn State's approach to not cutting corners and limiting salaries is unique in college sports, Jeff Rice writes in the Centre Daily Times.
• Michigan receiver Darryl Stonum pleads guilty in his drunken driving case, annarbor.com's Lee Higgins writes. Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman weighs in on the Ohio State situation, annarbor.com's Nathan Bomey writes.
• Tressel's departure creates a recruiting window for Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, Greg Johnson writes in The Grand Rapids Press.
• A very interesting look at Nebraska's recruitment of Bubba Starling and the school's plan for the two-sport star, colleague Mitch Sherman writes. New Nebraska baseball coach Darin Erstad, who played baseball and football at the school, plans to reach out to Starling, Brian Christopherson writes in the Lincoln Journal Star.
• Purdue coach Danny Hope is optimistic about the future, Rivals.com's Doug Griffiths and Kyle Charters write.
• Arguably Illinois' top incoming recruit has been ruled academically ineligible for the 2011 season, Bob Asmussen reports in The (Champaign) News-Gazette.
• Kevin Wilson's straight talk makes him a hit on Indiana's booster circuit, Dustin Dopirak writes in The (Bloomington) Herald-Times (subscription required). Compliance is a major priority for Wilson after the Ohio State situation, LaMond Pope writes in The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.
• After building a new indoor practice facility, Iowa will turn its attention to the football offices, Ryan Suchomel writes in the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

Hope you had a great weekend. I'm pretty certain you had more fun than Rich Rodriguez. Or my media pals wasting away outside Michigan's NCAA hearing in Seattle (at least they got some Domino's pizza, compliments of Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon, the former Domino's CEO).

Michigan's appearance before the NCAA Committee on Infractions was just one of several Big Ten news items from the weekend. Rather than address them individually, I'm consolidating them into a single post. You can thank me later.

1. Michigan appears before NCAA Committee on Infractions


What happened: Rodriguez and other Michigan officials, including Brandon and president Mary Sue Coleman, met with NCAA committee members for more than seven hours Saturday in Seattle. Michigan's primary focus was to defend Rodriguez against the NCAA's charge that he failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance at the school. The meeting was closed and no one said much about the specifics of what happened. Brandon called the hearing "fair and thorough;" at least 12 boxes of documents were presented. Rodriguez, in his only comments, said he's "certainly glad this part of the process is over." The Committee on Infractions likely will render its decision on penalties -- it could uphold Michigan's self-imposed penalties -- in 6-8 weeks, although as we found out with USC, the process could take longer.

My take: As expected, we didn't learn much, and we likely won't know much until midway through the season. A lot of this comes down to how seriously the NCAA considers these particular violations. Sure, they're categorized as major, but exceeding limits on practice/workout time and number of staff members involved with players doesn't seem as damaging as the allegations involving agents and players at several schools. There's also a widespread belief that similar violations could be found at many other programs. So does the NCAA want to make an example of Rodriguez, also named in a similar investigation involving West Virginia? We'll see. However things turn out with the NCAA or on the field this season, Michigan's strong defense of Rodriguez is the right move. The school doesn't want to be accused of not supporting its coach.

2. Iowa's Kirk Ferentz comments on absent running back Brandon Wegher

What happened: Ferentz on Saturday told reporters that there's no timetable for the return of the sophomore back, who left the team for undisclosed personal reasons about a week ago. But Ferentz is "cautiously optimistic" about Wegher rejoining the team, saying, "Personally, I can’t imagine him not coming back, but you just never know, you never know."

My take: Despite the state-wide panic about a reserve running back, it's important to have a little patience with this situation. From what I've heard, Wegher should be back with the Hawkeyes at some stage. He'll obviously fall behind in his preparation and on the depth chart, but I'd be surprised if we don't see him during the season. Although I understand the anxiety after Iowa struggled to keep its running backs healthy -- freshman Marcus Coker is already out with a shoulder injury -- Adam Robinson and Jewel Hampton are two solid options at the top.

3. Ohio State, Colorado discussing 2011 game

What happened: In response to a (Boulder) Daily Camera report, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith released a statement Saturday saying that he's talking with Colorado about scheduling a 2011 game in Columbus. There would be no return trip to Boulder, and the game would round out Ohio State's nonconference slate, which includes a trip to Miami and home games against both Akron and Toledo. "We hope to have an announcement on that within the next month," Smith said. He added that the payout to Colorado won't be $2 million, as previously reported.

My take: This would be a win-win for Ohio State, which gets a second BCS-conference opponent on its schedule and doesn't have to return the game. Colorado, meanwhile, gets some money for its financially strapped athletic program. Ohio State often gets criticized for playing one blockbuster non-league game and three cupcakes, and while Colorado has been in the latter category for some time, the Buffaloes should be more competitive in 2011. The Buckeyes haven't played two nonconference games against BCS foes since 2003, when they faced both Washington and NC State.

4. Delany talks Big Ten title game plans

What happened: While attending Michigan's NCAA hearing, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany spoke with reporters about the short-term and long-term plans for a league championship game in football. Not surprisingly, he's very pleased with Indianapolis as the initial site, saying it "makes a lot of logistical sense," and reiterated that the league and its athletic directors will take their time looking at long-term options.

My take: The most interesting thing Delany said was that the Big Ten could look to package its championships in football, men's basketball and women's basketball in one city. Indianapolis will host all three in 2011, but the Big Ten will consider moving its basketball tournament after attendance has been less than stellar in recent years. Chicago wants the football championship at Soldier Field and has hosted the hoops tourneys at the United Center. Cleveland, Detroit and Minneapolis also could host the basketball tournaments -- Green Bay, not so much -- but we need to take a closer look at those venues in addition to the football stadiums.

Michigan officials are headed to Seattle to play a little defense this weekend. Their primary goal: protect head football coach Rich Rodriguez from NCAA penalties.

When Rodriguez, athletic director Dave Brandon, university president Mary Sue Coleman and other Michigan officials appear before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions on Saturday, they will try to show that Rodriguez did, in fact, promote an atmosphere of compliance, which the NCAA is refuting. The charge against the coach is the only NCAA allegation, out of five, that Michigan contested in its response to the NCAA in late May. If you missed them, check out the full responses by Michigan and by Rodriguez.

Two things to remember:

• The likelihood of any major news coming from the Seattle hearings is slim to none, although media members will be on hand, just in case. As we found out with the USC case, the NCAA takes its sweet time issuing final rulings on these cases, so we likely won't know anything official until mid-to-late fall, at the earliest.
• The Committee on Infractions is required to only consider the case being presented, so Rodriguez's pending situation at West Virginia officially will not be a factor. That said, you can bet the NCAA folks know what's going on at West Virginia, and it will be tough for them to completely forget about the situation.

Here's an extensive look on how the meetings might play out Saturday, with quotes from former Indiana athletic director Rick Greenspan, who has sat in the same hot seat. For more, click here and here.

From The Detroit News:

Michigan appears well-positioned headed into the crucial hearings this weekend. From the moment allegations surfaced that the players practiced too much at the direction of football staff, the university appears to have done exactly what the NCAA says any of its member institutions should do.

From immediately launching its own investigation, to cooperating with the NCAA's separate investigation, to uncovering and evaluating a huge amount of evidence, to imposing stiff penalties on itself, Michigan may well have done everything necessary in the face of the first major violations leveled against its storied football program to escape even tougher treatment from the NCAA.

The only thing it could have done better, according to experts on NCAA investigations, is to have discovered the violations itself.
"U-M has accepted full responsibility and has put a plan in place to ensure future compliance, which will go a long way with the committee," said Rick Karcher, director of the Center for Law & Sports at the Florida Coastal School of Law.

However, a loose end, according to the experienced observers, is coach Rich Rodriguez.

Rodriguez obviously has to worry about a potential show cause penalty, which could restrict his recruiting and coaching activities.

My take: Rodriguez's ultimate fate still comes down to whether his team can defend better on the field, not in a hearing room. Although a potential pattern of non-compliance is cause for concern, these violations aren't in the same ballpark as academic fraud or what allegedly went down with agents at several ACC and SEC programs.

Still, this is a very important Saturday for Rodriguez. He'll have a few more of them once September rolls around.

The Lloyd Carr era at Michigan ends Sept. 1, as the former Wolverines football coach will officially retire from his post as associate athletic director.

Few men have been a bigger part of Michigan football for as long as Carr, who came to the school as defensive backs coach in 1980. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1987 and took the top job in 1995, following Gary Moeller's resignation. After winning a national championship and five Big Ten titles in 13 seasons as Wolverines head coach, Carr retired following Michigan's win in the 2008 Capital One Bowl and moved into his post in the administration.

He'll turn 65 about a month before his official retirement.

“I am thankful for the wonderful opportunity to assist two great coaches here in Bo Schembechler and Gary Moeller and I will always appreciate Joe Roberson’s decision to name me the head coach in 1995," Carr said in a statement. "I am also appreciative for those I worked with and for all the great friendships I have developed. Most of all, I am thankful for the young men I coached and for all the memories I have from my time at Michigan.”

Carr will be remembered for many things, including his commitment to Michigan and his charitable work outside the program. He had great success as a head coach early in his tenure and maintained stability, though his struggles against archrival Ohio State can't be forgotten. Still, given the current state of Michigan's program, it's interesting to think how things might be different if Carr still roamed the sidelines.

Here's a quick rundown of Carr's time at Michigan:

• 30 years of service (15 years as assistant coach, 13 years as head coach, two plus years as administrator)
• Overall record 122–40 (81-23 Big Ten)
• National championship in 1997
• Big Ten championships in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004
• AFCA Coach of the Year, Walter Camp Coach of the Year, Bear Bryant Award in 1997
• One of only three Michigan coaches to win more than 100 games (Schembechler and Fielding Yost are the others)
• Seventh coach in NCAA history to have reached 29 wins in just three seasons
• Ninth in Big Ten history in most overall wins (122), sixth in Big Ten wins (81) and ninth in league titles (5)

Statement from Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman: "Lloyd Carr's legacy is an impressive and important part of Michigan's rich history and tradition of excellence in football. He has served the University as well through his advocacy and passion for a number of philanthropic causes. We are grateful for his long and successful service and wish him well in retirement."

Statement from Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon: "I have known Lloyd since he came to Michigan as an assistant coach. Coach Carr is a man of integrity. I admire and appreciate his love for all of our student-athletes and his many contributions to not only our University, but his work on behalf of numerous charitable causes throughout the State of Michigan."

Both Michigan and head coach Rich Rodriguez have issued extensive responses -- 168 pages in total -- to the NCAA admitting that the football program committed major violations for the first time in its history. Michigan has self-imposed penalties, namely loss of practice time and loss of quality control coaches, and will learn its ultimate fate Aug. 13-14 in Seattle as officials appear before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions.

Rodriguez and athletic director Dave Brandon will address reporters today at 11 a.m. ET, but some quotes and statements are already out about the violations and where Michigan goes from here.

The university's official news release includes several statements:

Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman: "As we have said all along, we take full responsibility for knowing and following NCAA rules, and we will address concerns, quickly and head on. We believe the sanctions we have imposed fit the nature of the violations."

Brandon: "We have made every effort to be as transparent as possible -- to do this in the light of day. We've made some mistakes as a program -- we know that. We also have learned from this experience, we’ve made some necessary improvements, and now we are eager to move forward."

Brandon also did interviews with select news outlets Monday night, including The Detroit News and annarbor.com. Here's a sampling of what he had to say:

• "Probation is certainly not a fun thing, but we believe it is appropriate. We believe it's the right medicine, the right penalty. We did not get any advice or any direction that led us to believe [scholarship losses] was a necessary kind of punishment. We clearly did not break any rules that created an unfair competitive advantage. We did not get involved in anything like academic fraud or gambling that would have warranted that type of punishment."
• "We've been very public and very open over the fact that we do not believe, based on the circumstances that are before us, that it would be appropriate to have it impact the employment status of our coach. We've made it real clear that he’s going to be our coach in the fall. We made it real clear that these problems, although unfortunate, don’t rise to the level of triggering termination."
• "This is a shared responsibility of the athletic department. A lot of people were involved, a lot of mistakes were made, there was a lot of poor communication. This is the result of certain mistakes made in the football program but just as much in the compliance and athletic departments. All at various times failed to act in a manner we felt was appropriate and failed to manage these situations better. They're all equally accountable."
• "Nobody wants to be investigated, nobody wants to be found guilty of committing infractions, nobody wants to be found guilty as a result of those kinds of activities. So we don't like this, I don't like this. This is an unfortunate outcome for our university and our program. We've worked hard to correct some things and we feel that we’ve appropriately come up with a list of ways to punish ourselves and remedy the fact that we’ve made those mistakes. And I don't know what else we do at that point other than to move on and learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again."
• "The best outcome would be we go and appear before the infractions committee in August and they believe that we did a responsible job of matching up our penalties and sanctions with things that were uncovered in parts of the investigation, both theirs and ours. And then we move on."

Rodriguez also was talking Monday night, as he addressed reporters after attending the Michigan AP sports editors' meeting.

Here's some of what he had to say:

• "We’ve got to address everything head on and then let everybody -- at least assure everybody that cares about our program, that cares about the University of Michigan, that everything’s going to be fine. It’s easy to be all in when you’re assured that everything is going to be OK. And I’m trying to tell everybody that everything’s going to be OK. I just got to show it."
• "Everything was very thorough. And it’s not something that any coach ever wants to go through, trust me on that."
• "I wish we could have got it done earlier. Get all this stuff behind us so the only conversation with the old ball coach is, ‘OK, who is your quarterback going to be?’ ‘Why’d you run this coverage?’ ‘What kind of scheme are you going to run on defense?’"

Should we refer to RichRod as the Old Ball Coach from now on? Wonder if Steve Spurrier will be offended.

Here's the message I get from Brandon in all this: What happened was unfortunate, and casts a negative light on Michigan. Many people screwed up, so pinning this all on Rodriguez is unfair. In fact, the potential for these problems was there before he arrived. And let's be real honest: this isn't paying players or academic fraud we're talking about. The media grossly exaggerated much of this stuff. We respect the NCAA's investigation, but to penalize us further would be excessive and somewhat hypocritical, given the vagueness of rules around quality control coaches, etc. If you expect me to fire Rodriguez based on these violations, keep waiting. Now if he goes 5-7 again ...

Here's the message I get from Rodriguez: I made some mistakes here, and these violations took place on my watch, which is disappointing. But I'm not the only one who screwed up, as there were communication and monitoring breakdowns elsewhere. I'm not going to downplay the violations, but they aren't capital crimes, as the media might want you to believe. This process was brutal, but it's nearing an end. I'm not going anywhere yet, so let me coach my football team. I know I need to win this season, so let's get on with it.

Dave Brandon knew he'd need to familiarize himself with the NCAA's practices and policies to succeed in his new job as Michigan's athletic director.

Brandon didn't realize he'd have to become an expert in less than three months.

The NCAA's investigation into alleged rule violations by Michigan's football program has taken up much of Brandon's time since he took his new post March 8. Brandon's involvement actually began before his official first day, as he appeared at a Feb. 23 news conference with head football coach Rich Rodriguez and university president Mary Sue Coleman to announce the NCAA's five allegations against the football program.

Michigan today will formally respond to the NCAA and outline the self-imposed penalties it deems appropriate. The school could admit to committing major violations for the first time in football.

Michigan's response is crucial because it will send a message to the NCAA and the public about how the university views the allegations. Details will be made public Tuesday as Michigan, to its credit, continues to be transparent about a difficult topic.

The NCAA ultimately has the final say, as its Committee on Infractions will meet with Michigan officials Aug. 13-14 in Seattle. The committee could uphold Michigan's self-sanctions or hand down more severe penalties.

"One of the penalties you receive going through a process like this is the process," Brandon said last week at the Big Ten spring meetings. "It requires a lot of time, it forces you to spend a lot of time reviewing what you've done, trying to come up with steps and measures to assure you don't make the same mistake twice."

The NCAA alleges that Michigan exceeded limits for both time and number of coaches/staff members allowed to monitor both in-season and out-of-season team activities. Head coach Rich Rodriguez is alleged to have "failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program," and Michigan is alleged to have "failed to adequately monitor its football program to assure compliance."

Because Rodriguez is named in the allegations, he will issue his own response to the NCAA today. Rodriguez hired an attorney who has worked with the university's attorneys since Day 1 of the process.

"I had an opportunity to look at everything and that's a process that's time-consuming," Rodriguez said last week. "A lot of the things that I probably want to say will be in the response, but I don't know if everything that I'd like to say will be in the response. Everything I'd like to say probably will never [be said publicly]. We're all anxious to get it over with."

Michigan has hired attorney Gene Marsh, the former chairman of the NCAA's Committee on Infractions, to help during the NCAA's investigation. It's safe to assume Marsh will play a key role in today's response.

The school also has examined similar instances where self-imposed penalties were handed down, although each case is unique.

"You're always nervous," Rodriguez said. "We have experienced people who have looked at similar cases before, but you don't know for sure until you go in front of the committee in August and explain your case and see where it goes from there.

"For us, you'd rather have it be over six months ago, but in talking to everybody else, this is the normal time frame it takes."

Brandon is comfortable with the way Michigan has handled itself and, like Rodriguez, hopes the program can soon move forward.

"I'll be very, very glad to get this all turned over to the NCAA," he said, "and I'll be even more glad to finish this process in August."

Michigan officials today addressed the NCAA's report that details five allegations of violations against the football program between January 2008 and September 2009.

The NCAA sent the notice Monday morning, and Michigan now has 90 days to respond. Michigan then will appear before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions at a hearing in August.

You can read the NCAA's report here, as well as a letter sent to head football coach Rich Rodriguez, who appeared alongside incoming athletics director David Brandon and university president Mary Sue Coleman at today's news conference.

Here's a summary of the five allegations:

1. Five Michigan quality control staffers regularly engaged in both on-field and off-field coaching activities that are prohibited by NCAA rules. By engaging in these activities, Michigan exceeded the limit on number of coaches who can engage in these activities. Quality control personnel are alleged to have coached players two days a week in offseason workouts, warm-up activities during the season and film study, and they also attended meetings that involved coaching activities.

2. Michigan violated NCAA rules by having football staff members "monitor and conduct voluntary summer workouts, conduct impermissible activities outside the playing season, require football student-athletes to participate in summer conditioning activities for disciplinary purposes [missing class], and exceed time limits for countable athletically related activities during and outside the playing season." This seems to be the most serious charge and the one that sparked the Detroit Free Press report and the investigation. Here are some of the specifics:

• In two separate offseason periods in both 2008 and 2009, football players were sometimes required to participate in up to 10 hours of athletic activities or weight training/conditioning, which exceeds the limit of eight hours.
• During the 2008 season, players were sometimes required to participate for up to five hours a day in "countable athletically related activities," exceeding the maximum of four hours. The staff exceeded the 20-hour-a-week limit by 20 minutes during the week of Oct. 19, 2008.
• During September 2009, football players were required to participate in four and a half hours of activities per day, exceeding the NCAA limit by 30 minutes. The report identifies four dates in question: Sept. 7, Sept. 14, Sept. 21, Sept. 28.

3. Graduate assistant Alex Herron is accused "providing false and misleading information" to both Michigan and the NCAA enforcement staff when asked about the allegations. He denied being present for 7-on-7 passing drills in the summers of 2008 and 2009 when he allegedly conducted the sessions.

4. Because of the first two allegations (detailed above), Rodriguez is alleged to have "failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program and failed to adequately monitor the duties and activities of the quality control staff members, a graduate assistant coach and a student assistant coach, and the time limits for athletically related activities."

5. Because of the first two allegations, Michigan's athletics department is alleged to have "failed to adequately monitor its football program to assure compliance." Compliance staff members became concerned about the duties of the quality control coaches in the winter of 2008 but didn't gather enough information to determine potential problems. The strength and conditioning staff didn't calculate time limits for offseason workouts or effectively communicate information to the compliance office. This resulted in the compliance office approving miscalculated activities and failing to follow its own policies for monitoring these activities. Athletics staff also failed to provide the forms showing countable activities to the compliance office.

So how serious are these allegations?

In the letter to Rodriguez, the NCAA writes that "all of the allegations charged in the notice of allegations are considered to be potential major violations of NCAA legislation, unless designated as secondary violations." In its response to the NCAA, Michigan has the right to point out why alleged violations should be considered secondary. You can bet Michigan will do so.

Brandon told reporters today that while Michigan takes any allegations seriously, "there was no charge of loss of institutional control, none whatsoever." We don't know yet whether these violations will be labeled as major, which has historical significance because Michigan has never been hit with major violations before. But "major violations" can sound worse than they actually are, and these allegations certainly don't fit into the same category of recruiting improprieties, paying players, etc.

Brandon reiterated that Rodriguez will be Michigan's head coach in 2010 and that he has seen nothing to indicate a change at the top is necessary.

Michigan could be termed a repeat violator of NCAA rules because these allegations occur within the five years since the school was sanctioned for much more serious violations involving its men's basketball program. It's unlikely Michigan gets nailed for this, but it's within the realm of possibility.

A few takeaways from the news conference:

• Brandon and Rodriguez repeatedly stated they take the allegations seriously, which was the right move. But when the seriousness of the allegations keeps getting questioned, it probably means the repercussions won't be too bad for Michigan.
• The investigations were all sparked by allegations from current and former players that Michigan had grossly exceeded NCAA time limits for practices, offseason workouts and other team activities. Going 20 minutes beyond the weekly limit or 30 minutes beyond the daily limit is hardly extreme. It happens everywhere. If anything, the NCAA report helps Rodriguez and Michigan on this issue.
• Michigan's decision to put its CARA forms online -- logs sent from teams to the compliance office to monitor countable activities -- is much needed. Brandon acknowledged Michigan wasn't being diligent enough with these forms in the past.
• Brandon declined to discuss personnel decisions, so it will be interesting to see if any heads roll. It's noteworthy that Adam Braithwaite, a quality control assistant named in the NCAA's report, recently was elevated to a full-time assistant coach position. The allegations against Herron certainly suggest some disciplinary action will be taken.
• The size of coaching "staffs" is getting out of hand. Michigan's case should alert others to the potential problems of having so many quality control staffers.

Prediction: Michigan will be hit with some penalties, and "major violations" are possible. But these allegations don't seem to be overly extreme, despite some harsh language in the report. Michigan could be hit with probation or scholarship losses, and it will need to be more careful on these issues going forward. I'll repeat what I've said all along: Rich Rodriguez's fate ultimately comes down to whether or not he wins games, not what the NCAA decides in August.

Michigan has announced that it will address the NCAA's report about the investigation into the football program at a media briefing scheduled for 1 p.m. ET in Ann Arbor.

Head football coach Rich Rodriguez, university president Mary Sue Coleman and incoming athletics director David Brandon will be present to answer questions. The university isn't releasing any more information at this time.

Both Michigan and the NCAA have launched investigations into alleged time-limit violations by the football program that first surfaced in a Detroit Free Press report in August. Former and current players said the coaches far exceeded NCAA time limits for practices and training sessions.

The NCAA sent Michigan a notice of inquiry in late October and hoped to conclude its investigation by Dec. 31.

Michigan's Board of Regents held a closed-door meeting Feb. 3 that included an update on the NCAA's investigation. A Michigan alum has since sued the board for holding the closed meeting.

I'm sure Michigan fans are holding their breath, and I'll have much more later today following the media briefing.

Yum.

• ESPN.com's All-America team is finally here (!!!), and Michigan's Brandon Graham and Michigan State's Greg Jones made the squad.
• Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman discusses the ongoing NCAA investigation and new AD David Brandon, Mark Snyder writes in the Detroit Free Press. Denard "Shoelace" Robinson is one of three Wolverines freshmen who will also run track for U-M.
• The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette's Marc Morehouse breaks down Iowa's most popular, exciting and maddening player -- quarterback Ricky Stanzi.
• Minnesota offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch continues to be mentioned in NFL rumors, this time as an addition to Pete Carroll's staff with the Seahawks, Danny O'Neil writes in The Seattle Times.
• Ashton Leggett pleads guilty, while the fates of the other former and current Michigan State players facing assault charges will be determined later, Shannon Shelton writes in the Detroit Free Press.
• Ohio State's Thursday night opener is a sign of the times, Rob Oller writes in The Columbus Dispatch.

Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez says that as soon as he found out that practice time logs weren't being filed, he corrected the process.

Rodriguez, who doesn't personally fill out the forms, said he didn't know they weren't being turned in.

“I found out about it, and once I found out about the process it got corrected," he told reporters Wednesday in Ann Arbor. "Now, it’s like everything else that’s been talked about, under that [NCAA] investigation. We've all been informed to not talk about it until afterward and so that’s where it’s at."

An internal Michigan audit of several sports showed that the football program had failed to file reports showing Countable Athletically Related Activities for its players during the 2008 season. It's important to note that the NCAA doesn't require these logs, but they are part of Michigan's compliance procedures.

Unless there's a way to prove that Rodriguez willingly knew the logs weren't being filed -- for fear that NCAA time limits were being exceeded -- this issue shouldn't hurt him too much in the ongoing investigation, set to conclude by the end of December.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez's agent, Mike Brown, told several news outlets today that Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman remains fully supportive of the embattled second-year coach.

Let's be clear: a win against Ohio State won't salvage Michigan's season.

The Wolverines still would have six losses on their record, including three defeats of 21 points or more. They would still finish no better than 2-6 in Big Ten play for the second straight year. They would still have a ton of blemishes on defense that couldn't be washed away. They would still be nowhere near the league championship.

Here's what a Michigan victory Saturday against its heavily favored archrival would do:

• End the program's first five-game slide against Ohio State, a losing streak that stretches back to Nov. 22, 2003, nearly 2,200 days ago
• All but assure Michigan of its first bowl appearance since the 2008 Capital One Bowl
• Ensure Michigan didn't finish last in the Big Ten for the first time since 1962
• Give Michigan its first win against an FBS opponent since Sept. 26 (Indiana)
• Allow a group of players and coaches who have seemingly been under siege all season a few moments to exhale and celebrate

Perhaps the last point is the most vital.

"More than anything, from a selfish standpoint, [a win] would allow us as players and coaches to feel good for the first time in a long time, and let our seniors to feel good," head coach Rich Rodriguez said. "Singing that fight song in the locker room and in front of the student section is, to me, the greatest thrill that we have in coaching and probably in playing.

"It would, more than anything, let our guys have some enjoyment for a change."

Rodriguez spoke candidly this week about the toll the team's struggles are taking on him and his family. Though Michigan AD Bill Martin and university president Mary Sue Coleman have reiterated their support for the coach, a second consecutive losing season combined with the ongoing NCAA investigation into the football program would keep Rodriguez's seat very warm.

A win Saturday would cool things down a bit.

"It eats at your soul because I don't coach football, I live it," Rodriguez said. "My family lives it, every one of our staff's family lives it as well. ... If you love it that much and you put so much into it, you don't have success, it certainly eats at you.

"I'm not used to this. My staff is not used to it. So it just gnaws you to the bone."

For Michigan's small senior class, like their predecessors last year, Saturday's game represents one final chance to beat Ohio State. Several seniors called a players-only meeting Monday to discuss what the game means.

Getting bowl eligible would be nice, and getting over the hump against the Buckeyes carries even more weight.

"What's a better way than to beat O-State and get into a bowl game off them," Wolverines defensive end Brandon Graham told reporters Monday. "That would feel so much better and everything else would erase itself. You're always thinking about, we might have had a bad year but we beat O-State."

Both Rodriguez and Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel downplayed the effect The Game has on recruiting. But for a Michigan program still very much in transition, a victory Saturday would give Rodriguez and his assistants a strong selling point that progress is, in fact, being made.

When the team met Monday, the message was simple.

"If we’re going to put it all together," Rodriguez said, "let’s do it this week."