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Michigan Football Spending A Lot On Satellite Camps… Sort Of

By Tyler Fenwick

Apr 1, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; General view as Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh looks on during the Spring Game at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 1, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; General view as Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh looks on during the Spring Game at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s going to be a busy summer for Michigan football with its swarm of satellite camps, and that means spending a lot of money.

If what the Michigan football program is planning on spending this summer for satellite camps was how much money you made in a year, you’d be in the third-highest tax bracket.

Related Story: Harbaugh will be on UM's Mount Rushmore

That’s $350,000, which, for most of us, is a lot of money.

That’s what Michigan is spending to travel the country—er, travel the world—as part of its enormous satellite camps swarm. You know, the thing that everyone can’t stop talking about because it made the SEC and ACC mad.

Maybe the NCAA was just trying to promote fiscal responsibility when it banned the practice earlier this offseason. Unlikely.

The last number I saw was 34. That’s 34 camps in 19 states (including Hawaii) and two countries.

So $350,000—that’s a hell of a lot of money, right? If you’re used to the middle class lifestyle, then certainly. If you’re a major university with a historic football program, then not really.

According to Forbes, the Michigan football program alone was valued at $105 million in 2015. The athletic department as a whole generated north of $152 million in 2014-15. So to break this down:

That’s a mere .3 percent of the program’s estimated value in 2015. Point. Three. Percent.

Looking at the cut of the athletic department’s total revenue in the 2014-15 academic year is stupid. (It’s .23 percent.)

So while you have to scramble for change in the McDonald’s drive thru because they snuck in a 10 cent hike on the cheeseburger meal, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel is basically handing blank checks to the football program and telling them to have a good time.

“In my mind, I’m willing to invest because Michigan has been in the role of really supporting and promoting what we think is the right thing to do,” Manuel said. “He’s out there teaching the game the right way. He’s out there promoting the game of football, which is important to me, to him and to Michigan. For us, it is an investment that is worth it.”

And of course Harbaugh is game for it.

“I’m having more fun than I’ve had in a long time, so I don’t see why not,” Harbaugh told Sam Khan Jr. of ESPN. “I mean, if you don’t like this, coming out coaching and teaching, then you might have gotten into the wrong profession. This profession may not be for you. If you’re tiring of doing this or you think this is a grind or you’re ready for it to be over, you might have picked the wrong profession.”

Next: Top 10 running backs in Michigan history

So the next time you have to check your balance before upgrading to a large, just remember that Michigan is spending enormous dollars to make multiple positive impressions. And actually, it’s only a lot of money if you have it.

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