Tag: Santa Ono

U-M president Santa J. Ono, AD Warde Manuel issue statements on Jim Harbaugh departure

Oddly, some real interesting stuff here. #GoBlue

Jim Harbaugh flirted with the NFL the past few years, and on Wednesday that flirtation turned into a full-blown marriage. Harbaugh left Michigan football for the Los Angeles Chargers post.

Upon Harbaugh’s departure, University of Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel issued a statement. It thanked the nine-year Wolverines coach, conveyed what he did to in an attempt to keep Harbaugh and shared how the two will work together in the days ahead to ensure the maize and blue aren’t left high and dry by his absence.

“I want to thank Jim for everything he has done for our football program, athletic department and the University of Michigan over the past nine years,” Manuel said. “Every day, he has worked extremely hard to elevate the stature of Michigan across the world, with the goal of winning championships and developing young men on and off the football field.

“Jim did exactly what he sought to do at Michigan, build our program to consistently win Big Ten Championships and compete for national championships, culminating with a record three straight outright conference titles and the national championship this year. He did the same off the field by graduating his players and providing life experiences through mentorships, internships and team trips around the globe.

“We have been discussing a new contract that would make Jim the highest paid coach in college football. In the end, he wanted to explore and ultimately decided to pursue a return to coaching in the NFL. We can’t thank Jim enough for all that he has done for our student-athletes, staff and Michigan Football. He will always be a huge part of our rich history, and will be remembered as an all-time great Wolverine, as both a championship player and coach.

“Jim has always been extremely upfront with his communication regarding NFL opportunities and has been helpful with this transition in leadership. We had a great conversation tonight when he informed me of this decision to return to the NFL and offered his assistance in helping identify the needs for the program moving forward.

“We are working quickly to hire the next head coach for the program and will do everything possible to keep this current staff and team together.

“We appreciate Jim’s dedication and passion for Michigan, the university and Ann Arbor, and I wish Jim and the entire Harbaugh family much success with the Los Angeles Chargers.”

U-M president Santa J. Ono, who had done a masterful job of keeping Harbaugh around for the 2023 season, also issued a statement, indicating it was among his highest priorities to keep Harbaugh as the head coach of the Wolverines.

“We have been in talks with Jim Harbaugh for the last several weeks and have tried our best to retain him as our football coach,” Ono said. “Jim called me today and let me know that he has made the difficult decision to leave Michigan and join the Los Angeles Chargers in pursuit of his NFL dreams.

“For the fans, the players, and for me personally, we are sad to hear of Jim’s departure. His drive and ambition turned our program around, delivered our first national championship in a quarter century and maintained Michigan as the all-time winningest team in the history of college football.

“I thank Jim for all he has done for the University of Michigan and respect his decision. He has been an extraordinary leader and a friend. I will be cheering for Jim as he embarks on this next adventure.”

The next step for Michigan football is to hire a head coach, and it appears that the Wolverines have just the man in mind.

Santa Ono, Warde Manuel issue joint statement on Big Ten adding Oregon, Washington

Interesting move for the Big Ten. #GoBlue

The Big Ten is continuing to make moves, suddenly adding Oregon and Washington to the conference starting in 2024. The announcement came on Friday evening.

With the move, the two former Pac-12 schools (which will still compete in the West Coast-based conference in 2023) will join USC and UCLA in joining the Big Ten.

University of Michigan president Santa J. Ono was one who voted for the two new schools which help the conference move to 18 members in 2024. He and Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel commented on the move in a joint release shortly after the Big Ten’s announcement.

Full release:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Big Ten Conference unanimously voted Friday (Aug. 4) to accept the University of Oregon and the University of Washington as full members in all sponsored sports, effective in August 2024.

As the conference continues to grow and expand across the country, we are pleased to confirm this decision and extend a warm welcome to our newest members, both of which are leading research universities and members of the Association of American Universities with championship-caliber athletic programs.

We also look forward to the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California joining the conference in 2024.

Over the course of the last year, following the acceptance of UCLA and USC to the Big Ten Conference competition, administrators across our membership have engaged in thoughtful study and dialog on wide-ranging logistical questions and considerations. Those efforts, aimed at ensuring a positive student-athlete experience and fiscal stability, leave us well-prepared to make additions at this time.

As the collegiate sports landscape continues to change rapidly, we hope that you will join us in welcoming the Huskies and Ducks to the Big Ten.

Go Blue!

Santa J. Ono
President

Warde Manuel
Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics

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Santa Ono trolls Adam Schefter after Jim Harbaugh Michigan football return announcement

Ouch! Be careful with that friendly fire! #GoBlue

OK, so there’s some friendly fire afoot. And even though University of Michigan president Santa Ono is new, having just come aboard this past fall, it turns out he’s well aware of what happened in 2014 when the Wolverines lured Jim Harbaugh back to the college ranks from the NFL.

On Monday evening, Ono announced Jim Harbaugh told him he will return to coach the maize and blue and will not depart for the NFL. The news was tweeted out by ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter. But Ono remembers what happened when Harbaugh was on a plane to Ann Arbor in December 2014, even though Schefter himself is a Michigan alumnus.

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In case you don’t remember, when Harbaugh was traveling to Ann Arbor to be announced as the new Michigan football head coach, Schefter tweeted that the Oakland Raiders were still in play, and that Harbaugh to Michigan was not a done deal.

Ono is proving he catches onto even Michigan memes, and he is certainly endearing himself more and more to the maize and blue faithful.

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U-M president Santa J. Ono: Jim Harbaugh is coming back to Michigan football

Huge news for #Michigan! #GoBlue

The band is really getting back together, and that includes the man who writes all the songs.

Despite a tumultuous offseason in which head coach Jim Harbaugh flirted with the NFL once again, a handful of unexpected players entered the NCAA transfer portal and NCAA allegations of Level I and II violations by the program arose, it has been mostly good news for Michigan football. The Wolverines had Blake Corum, Trevor Keegan, Zak Zinter, Kris Jenkins, Michael Barrett and Cornelius Johnson return instead of leaving for the league, and the biggest news came on Monday.

New Michigan president Santa J. Ono took to Twitter to announce he spoke to Jim Harbaugh and that Harbaugh told him he will remain with the program.

While concessions and contract figures were not announced and said contract has to be signed, that’s huge news for the maize and blue, and potentially stems any damage to recruiting, which happened last year.

More on this story as it develops.

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U-M president Santa Ono, Jim Harbaugh release coordinated message about contract negotiations

This is encouraging. #GoBlue

Michigan football fans — and the whole college football world, really — are waiting with bated breath about the status of head coach Jim Harbaugh and his contract negotiations.

A year after flirting with the NFL, Harbaugh is at it again, as the two sides work towards potentially reaching a long-term deal.

It appears that that deal is coming together, considering what happened on Thursday. First, University of Michigan president Santa J. Ono released a statement on Twitter saying that he is having productive conversations with Harbaugh and athletic director Warde Manuel. The Michigan football Twitter account responded immediately with a quote tweet, with a Harbaugh quote which continues to be a little non-descript, but the timing indicates that he’s working to get back to Ann Arbor.

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We’ll see what happens from here, but things do need to get buttoned up in short order. Jan. 15 is the deadline for players who could declare for the NFL draft to make their decision one way or the other. And then, there’s the recruiting piece, as well.

Harbaugh did release a statement last week indicating that he intends to return to Ann Arbor this next year, but he did still have a Zoom interview with the Denver Broncos on Monday, throwing cold water on the idea that this will wrap up in the near-term.

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University of Michigan President takes friendly shot at Ohio State

Did University of Michigan President Santa Ono throw some fuel on the greatest rivalry in sports?

When it comes to the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry, neither side is ever safe as the opposition is always looking for a way to get a jab in. It’s one of the many reasons that make this rivalry the greatest in all of sports.

University of Michigan President, Santa Ono, didn’t miss the opportunity to throw some shade at the rival Buckeyes after their poor performance over the weekend at Northwestern. Ono is a frequent flyer on Twitter and uses the platform to connect with students and Wolverine fans in general.

After the dust settled from the Northwestern game and a late-night win secured over Rutgers for the maize and blue, Ono took to the social media site to give his opinion on weather patterns in Ohio come late November. In particular how the wind can blow in the Buckeye State.

Check out his comments below.

Judging from Ono’s posts, the tweet was all in good fun. Let’s take a look at some of the best reactions to the roasting from both Wolverine and Buckeye fans.

Michigan gets what it needs in new president

This was a really good hire by U-M! #GoBlue

By all accounts, Dr. Santa Ono is precisely what the University of Michigan wanted in its new president. But also, it likely has gotten exactly what it needs.

From the start, former president Dr. Mark Schlissel was a bad fit, espousing a brand of snobbery perfectly fit for the Ivy League — he came from Brown. But he was a terrible fit in Ann Arbor. As he was frequently decried as an elitist, he did nothing to disabuse the locals of this notion, starting with his comments that his focus was more on the academic side than athletics. That might sell well in Providence, but not in a city that boasts the largest football stadium in America. Naturally, the marriage ended in the only way it could — in disgrace.

However, with Ono, Michigan gets the best of all worlds. An affable, congenial face for the university, who will strive to push academics and research, while also taking athletics not just into account, but pushing for that side to be even greater. His comments upon his hiring on Wednesday reflect that.

“Playing at the highest level is incredibly important for public research universities,” Ono said. “The University of Michigan has a storied history and has a great set of teams right now across a wide group of different sports. It’s a point of great pride for the institution. It knits the whole community together. So, I think there’s a tremendous synergy in between academics and athletics, and I want to do everything I can to ensure that Michigan competes at the highest level.”

Compared that to what Schlissel said shortly after he began his tenure:

“What I want to be sure of is that athletics exist in an appropriate balance with everything else the university does. Athletics isn’t part of the mission statement of the university. We’re an academic institution, so I want to work on the appropriate balance between athletics and academics,” he said.

“I also feel strongly that the students who come here to be athletes — are students and that they have all the opportunities for education and to take advantage of everything that goes on here at the university, as well as pursue the sport that they love.”

That’s nothing short of tone deaf when it comes to what the University of Michigan is. Yes, alums want athletes to succeed in the classroom and to help elevate the university’s good standing academically. But, athletics and academics are not diametrically opposed, especially considering that athletics are the veritable front door to the academic side for the vast majority of the populace at-large.

Schlissel never seemed to understand that, and thus was often at odds with the self-sustaining athletic department. Eventually, his snobbery took its told on the academic side, too.

Ono, on the other hand, has been well-regarded at his most recent stops. From the University of British Columbia to the University of Cincinnati, he’s cultivated a sterling reputation. At the latter, he did so while emphasizing the athletic side just as much as the academic side.

When Mary Sue Coleman stepped down, her successor did the university no favors. She stepped back in as interim president, and her next successor has an opportunity to right many of the wrongs levied by Schlissel. We’ll see how Ono steps up to the challenge.

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