Michigan football announces annual spring trip destinations
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has remained true to his word on annual academic spring trips, having taken his squad overseas three times (Rome, France, and South Africa) to around the state of Michigan last year. This year’s squad will visit Canton and Cleveland, Ohio, Washington D.C., New York City, and Gettysburg, Pa. among its stops per a social media release from the team.
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Canton, of course, is home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That was teased in the video, as was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. New York City, the White House, the Capitol, and the museums in Washington D.C. were also featured. The program is also planning a trip to the Holocaust Museum, they announced several weeks ago.
Harbaugh started the trips in 2017 as part of a “study abroad” program with Michigan.
“I don’t know who would have a problem with or how they could,” the Michigan coach said a while back. “Unless they’re not for student-athletes. This is bringing academics and athletics together. This is what being a student-athlete is supposed to be. It’s one of the reasons we’re so excited by it.”
The COVID-19 pandemic canceled Michigan football’s trips in 2020 and 2021 before the trip around the state last year. That included Grand Rapids and the Gerald R. Ford Museum, the Michigan Upper Peninsula (including Pictured Rocks), Traverse City, Sleeping Bear Dunes on Lake Michigan and much more.
Some of the Michigan seniors approached Harbaugh about picking the trips up again after the hiatus, and he obliged.
A team spokesperson said some of Michigan’s senior players approached Harbaugh about re-starting the trips, citing their positive experiences as underclassmen.
“Harbaugh believes that not all learning is done in a classroom and that these trips serve not only to educate the players about the customs and lifestyles of other cultures and areas, but also provide the opportunity to give back to those local areas,” Michigan said in a press release last year.
This year, it’s going national.
