College football is built on rivalries, and it looks like it’s time to add another to the list.
College football powerhouses Michigan and Alabama certainly aren’t natural rivals, but that could change very soon. It has nothing to do anything on the field in the fall, however, as the brewing feud centers around the programs’ star head coaches.
Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and Alabama’s Nick Saban have developed a nice little passive-aggressive war of words in recent days and weeks.
Saban apparently irked Harbaugh with comments about satellite camps. Harbaugh and Michigan have taken advantage of the camps, during which coaches are allowed to travel to other schools, work as guest instructors and “unofficially” speak with recruits. The NCAA banned the camps in April before overturning the decision shortly thereafter.
Saban hasn’t been as forgiving, though, especially as Harbaugh encroaches on the south, which is Alabama and SEC country.
“This is the wild, wild West at its best,” Saban told reporters Tuesday at the SEC’s spring meetings, per ESPN.com. “There have been no specific guidelines relative to how we’re managing control of this stuff. It’s happening outside the normal evaluation window, which means we’re taking time away from our players. We have to worry about our players doing the right things with the limited time we have them, but we’re not going to do that because we have to be somewhere else to see someone else.”
Saban wasn’t done, calling the camps “ridiculous,” before saying it was “amazing” no one has put a stop to the practice.
As expected, Harbaugh shot back, and he didn’t wait long. The Michigan coach fired off a tweet Tuesday night that included a reference to Saban’s comments as well as a jab about recent alleged Crimson Tide recruiting violations.
"Amazing" to me- Alabama broke NCAA rules & now their HC is lecturing us on the possibility of rules being broken at camps. Truly "amazing."
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) June 1, 2016
The unfortunate news, however, is Michigan and Alabama aren’t scheduled to play each other in non-conference action any time soon. Maybe that will change down the road, but what would be even more interesting is a playoff game between the two powers, hopefully sooner rather than later. We might not have to wait long, either, as both Alabama and Michigan are projected by some to be top-five programs in 2016.
Thumbnail photo via Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports Images
