Report: SEC attempting to block Michigan's practices in Florida
In the least surprising news you’ll hear all day, the SEC is attempting to prevent Jim Harbaugh from having its spring practice in Florida.
But the league isn’t addressing the issue directly, according to a report from CBS Sports. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey reportedly petitioned the NCAA to block all teams from holding practices during spring break.
The Wolverines had planned on doing exactly that during its spring break, which begins the last week of February. On National Signing Day, Jim Harbaugh confirmed the report that Michigan would have spring practices at the famous IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
There are no current NCAA rules preventing such an event, as long as Michigan stays within the current spring practice guidelines. The CBS report stated that “an effort similar to Michigan’s will most likely be prohibited in the near future but a decision is not expected to be handed down in time to prevent the planned trip to Florida.”
Harbaugh previously said that he planned on treating it as a mix of organized fun on and off the field.
“One is, everybody is going to get a spring break. There’s no youngster that can’t afford to fly somewhere who won’t be able to enjoy a spring break. What better way to be doing that than to be playing football?” Harbaugh told the Detroit News on National Signing Day. “The other thing it’s going to allow us to do by practicing during our spring break, we’ll have both weeks of finals. Winter finals are going to be no football. They’re going to be discretionary weeks and our guys can concentrate and focus on the finals.
“We’ll be outside, we’ll be in Florida, we’ll go to the beach. It will be a good time for our team to connect and be together. That’ a lot of levels right there to win on, so I’m very much looking forward to it.”
This isn’t the first time the SEC attempted to shut down a Harbaugh initiative. The league was also part of a group that tried to ban Harbaugh’s satellite camps, which gained notoriety across the country throughout his first offseason as Michigan coach.
It remains to be seen whether or not the NCAA will take action to prevent Harbaugh’s spring break relocation plan or against future ventures.