I'm going to spend 10 minutes writing a response to the Freep article, b/c that's all it really deserves. By this time next week, we'll be far more consumed by the performance, or lack thereof, of our QBs in the Western game than in the practice time leading up to the game.
I spent a year doing NCAA D-1 athletics. It was on a rowing team that cost my university big bucks to run and generated 0 revenue. With no financial incentives to be good, we still spent far more than 20 hours a week in season and 8 hours a week out of season working on the team. Having said that, we broke no NCAA rules. The rules provide a kind of Bill Clintonesque state of interpretation (depends on what practice is).
Practice is essentially time spent doing physical activity with a coach watching. After practice, we'd be handed workout regimens and tapes to review. These would double the actual time spent with coaches. Some players also had mandatory study time assigned as well. I can well imagine a 10am-10pm schedule that involves only 4 hours of "NCAA practice time"
Its something like this:
10-12: Trainer time (not practice)
12-1: Team Lunch (not practice)
1-2: Reviewing team tapes (not practice)
2-6: Beaten into a pulp by merciless coaches making 7 figures (practice)
6-7: Shower and see trainer again (not practice)
7-8: Dinner (not practice)
8-10: More tape review/study hall (not practice)
This is a 12 hour day, with only 4 hours counted as practice time. It is also copacetic with the Freep report. The UM staff will put together a schedule like this, deliver it to the NCAA and all will be fine. The only alternative is to ban all voluntary workouts at every school. Then players will sue the NCAA for limiting their ability to pursue professional careers. They'd have a strong anti-trust case for this. My guess is this whole thing gets swept under the rug after a perfunctory investigation.
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