Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh, left, tries to distract Zahir Wilder, a senior-to-be quarterback at Rahway (N.J.) High School, during a satellite camp July 8, 2016, at Paramus (N.J.) Catholic.
Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh is the face of satellite camps.
And earlier this week, he told reporters in Texas that he gladly would do his massive tour again because he’s enjoying it so much. But it appears that he might not get that chance.
According to proposals obtained by the Virginian-Pilot from the recent Conference USA meetings, there could be major changes to the current camp setup.
One proposal is for the NCAA to take over the camps, hosting them at NFL or high school facilities.
Another option, if the current school-by-school setup remains, would be to limit the period from 30 days to just 10.
Harbaugh has said his primary goal for the camps is to teach football, but the NCAA likely would add some elements beyond the field if it took over.
“The NCAA would mandate counseling on recruiting and academics at its satellite camps and is considering compensating low-income athletes for the cost of traveling to the camps,” the report said.
It also suggested that an early signing period for football could be implemented, with players able to sign binding letters of intent starting in August of their senior year, thereby eliminating National Signing Day in February.
Any proposal likely would got to the NCAA Football Oversight Committee and then to the Division I Council for discussion and voting. That is the group that banned the satellite camps on April 8, based on an ACC proposal. It saw its ban overturned by the Division I Board of Directors three weeks later.
Michigan will participate in far more camps — roughly three times more than any other school — this month. The Wolverines have camps in Ann Arbor through Thursday and then will finish out the month in Las Vegas, California, Hawaii and American Samoa.
Michigan AD Warde Manuel says Harbaugh’s camp tour has $350,000 budget
Contact Mark Snyder at msnyder@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter at @mark__snyder. Download our Wolverines Xtra appon iTunesandAndroid!