The University of Michigan said it will investigate the allegations of players and parents who told the Free Press that the football team violated NCAA rules governing off-season workouts, in-season practices and summer scrimmages.
Athletic director Bill Martin said in a statement released Sunday evening: “We are committed to following both the letter and the intent of the NCAA rules, and we take any allegations of violations seriously. We believe we have been compliant with NCAA rules, but nonetheless, we have launched a full investigation of the allegations in today’s newspaper.”
Martin said the university contacted the Big Ten conference and the NCAA on Sunday.
“We will have more to say on this as soon as we have completed our assessment,” the statement said.
In the Free Press report, first published Saturday night online, current and former players and parents of players said the team was far exceeding NCAA limits on practice time and other activities. They said players spent two to three times more than the 8 hours allowed for workouts and other activities during the off-season.
The players, who did not want to be identified because they feared repercussions from the coaches, also said quality-control staff members, who assist the coaches, attended off-season scrimmages that are to be voluntary and run by players, and broke NCAA rules that limit teams to 4 hours of practice a day and 20 hours a week during the season.
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez did not issue a comment Sunday.
Rodriguez is scheduled to hold his usual weekly news conference at 11 a.m. Monday in Ann Arbor. It’s unclear whether he will address the allegations. Rodriguez and Martin addressed the team at a meeting Sunday afternoon. They told the team that it had to stick together through a difficult time, according to one person who was there and parents who were briefed by sons. One player described Rodriguez as somber.
