Overall opinion

My thoughts on the subject of football programs going over the limits for practice time are that they are absolutely absurd. I don’t understand how teams are supposed to get better if they have limits on how much they can practice. This is especially the case for one of the toughest sports to prepare for in football. I understand that education and being a student-athlete is important in college, but I believe that coaches understand this and are aware that the players need time for themselves and to do school work. Also, I believe that the extra time thats has been discussed in cases such as the Michigan case are voluntary. I have learned through my experience that coaches often want players to put in extra time for lifting and working out to make that player better, however I have never had a coach who has forced me to do those things. These are just a few basic thoughts on these types of situations that have occurred with programs such as Michigan.

Behind the Scenes

Here is just another link that explains how the University of Michigan launched an investigation of its football program

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/12133212

From Own Experience

From my experience as a college athlete at Tiffin University I have noticed that it takes a lot of practice if you want to compete at a high level.  Therefore I agree with some of the previous posts where players say it takes more than the twenty or eight,  hour a week limits created by the NCAA.  The players say that if you want to be good then you have to put in more time.  However, they also say that this is work that is not done with the coaches and it is not mandatory.  Rather it is work done by asking coaches what needs to be worked on to become a better player and once that is figured out it is on the player themselves to do that in their free time.   I agree with this completely, that players need to do extra things such as lifting, agility, watch more tape to make themselves better and this is all stuff that can be done without the help of coaches.  I also disagree with these allegations placed on the University of Michigan because most players do put in more time and that is only because they want to be better and they want to win.  I know from experience that coaches keep track of time spent practicing so that the limits are not exceeded.  However, I also know from experience that I have put in the extra time  by myself so that I could become a better player and I will continue to do so, so that I can become the best player I can possibly be.

Response by Rich Rodriguez

Here is a simple blog as well as a video which shows some of the things that Rich Roriguez has said in response to the allegations made by former Michigan players and how he felt about the allegations that were made.

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/5331/updates-from-michigan-news-conference

OSU Players and Coach Support Rival….Really?

In light of the recent allegations made by former Michigan football players, The Ohio State University has had players and a head coach who supports the Michigan coaches. This is because many players agree that it takes more than the limit of 20 hours a week to become a better player and the OSU players agree that the Michigan program is not the only program putting in extra time to become better.  They also say that even thought the NCAA has these limitations, the players don’t abide by those limitations .  This is one thing that I strongly agree with, because many players will just continue to workout and lift to make sure they are the best.  Doug Worthington, one of the OSU team captains put it best when he said “no matter what the coaches or the NCAA says, players who want to be better will become workaholics.”  Attached is the full article which includes a video of head coach Jim Tresselwhich explains the OSU point of view in more detail.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4438648

University of Michigan Under Investigation

On August 30, 2009 former players made allegations that the University of Michigan exceeds the limits for practicing on a regular basis. The limits state that no more than twenty hours a week, and four hours a day while in season and no more than eight hours a week in the offseason. These players said they would have eleven hour days on Sundays which exceeds the daily limit and would have workouts and training in the offseason which totaled about thirteen hours a week which is much more than the eight hour weekly limit. Since these allegations have come out the football program of Michigan has been under investigation by both the university and the NCAA.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4431717

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/6026/michigan-receives-notice-of-inquiry-from-ncaa

What is the Limit for Practicing for College Football?

Well the actual limits or rules established by the NCAA for practices are to be no more than 20 hours per week which inlcude no more than 4 hours a day while in season for a college football program. There are also limits placed on coaches that prohibit them from attending various events during the offseason such as 7-on-7 scrimmages. The limits for football programs while in the offseason are for players to spend no more than 8 hours for various workouts.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/2650/michigan-allegations-suggest-friction-remains

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