Juwan Howard shares thoughts on incoming U-M president Santa Ono, NIL direction
The University of Michigan is going through a transformative time with incoming president Santa Ono set to begin his 5-year term on Oct. 14. Ono is a well-respected scholar and leader from those that know him best. He is also an athletics-friendly administrator that wants to see Michigan compete at the highest level.
The energy and excitement for his arrival are palpable throughout Ann Arbor, but especially in athletics. Michigan men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard is excited about what he will bring to the community and beyond.
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“We’ve had some communication with one another,” Howard said Wednesday at Big Ten Basketball Media Days in Minneapolis. “But haven’t met him yet in person. I’m looking forward to it. I’m also looking forward to Santa joining in and being our president because – from what I’ve been told and for what I’ve seen from afar – he’s a true Michigan man.
“He also enjoys sports as well. He’s competitive and he wants to win. He wants to see a championship banner hung up in Crisler [Center] again. And he wants to be part of that. Also wants to see championships in football as well as in many other sports.
But I gotta give up flowers to [outgoing interim] president Mary Sue Coleman. I really admire and respect her and I really thank her for being just one of the best leaders that our university has witnessed.”
Juwan Howard weighs in on Michigan’s NIL progress
Howard was among the outspoken coaches at Michigan for better support from the athletic department on the NIL front. During the summer, he did not mince words on his thoughts about where things stood at the time.
“NIL is one of these things where it has helped some programs, what they’ve done in the transfer portal,” he said on Aug. 11. “For us, NIL hasn’t hurt the team when it comes to recruiting or the transfer portal. Have the conversations of NIL been brought up in recruiting [though]? Yes, they have. Would I like to see more done for the program in the sense of some of the things that happened with other basketball programs? Yes.”
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Howard was completely unbothered by the idea that Michigan NIL criticism would create headlines. But he wanted to create a conversation.
“I know it’s going to be a storyline, and that’s okay,” Howard said. “Do we have a collective here? No. Do other programs have collectives? Yes. Could we be more proactive with NIL and be more forward-thinking? Yes.”
Howard was asked to revisit those comments on Wednesday at the Target Center in the heart of Minneapolis. He sees marginal progress but steps forward nonetheless.
“Yes, I have seen some progress with the athletic department,” Howard said. “It’s still growing, but I love the direction of where we are.”
