Apparently it costs a lot of money to send an entire football team to Italy
Here’s something that might catch people by surprise.
Sending an entire football team to Italy for a week isn’t cheap.
According to Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, the Wolverines’ week-long trip to Rome cost between $750,000-$800,000. All of that, however, was covered by an unrestricted financial gift by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous (Detroit News).
“It will be about $5,000 to $6,000 a person, so it was a great investment,” Manuel said via the Detroit News. “It was just terrific. We pay them through an educational experience like Michigan does all the time. I don’t think about it in terms of paying our athletes but if people want to say we should give something to our students of value, I can’t think of a better way to invest in them for their lifetime and their experience.”
Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines left for Rome after finals back in April. The trip allowed for Michigan players to stay in Rome and study abroad, which several of them ended up doing.
Harbaugh said on the Rich Eisen Show on Monday that it was “the best thing he had ever been a part of on a football team.”
Harbaugh’s Rome trip even earned high praise from ESPN radio host Paul Finebaum, who said that the Italy trip was what college sports are supposed to be about.
Michigan was allowed to make the trip happen because it wasn’t during a vacation period during the semester, which the NCAA banned after the Wolverines’ trip to Bradenton, Fla. in 2016.
Harbaugh said that he hopes to have several destination options available for Michigan’s future conclusion to spring practices.
As for whether or not other teams will follow Michigan’s lead remains to be seen. If they have a donor who wants to pony up $800,000, perhaps they’ll make it happen.