Will new President Santa Ono accelerate Michigan athletics' NIL?
New Michigan president Santa Ono comes to U-M from the University of British Columbia, and judging by his tweets, he can’t wait to get started. From places to go biking to restaurant recommendations, he’s already put the word out to the citizens of Ann Arbor to expect to see him around town.
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We made it clear early that Ono could provide a huge boost to the Michigan Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) efforts. He insisted at his introductory press conference that he wanted U-M’s athletics programs to compete at the “highest level” — in other words, compete for national championships — and several have told us since then he’s already shared his expectations with people in the athletic department.
That includes football’s Jim Harbaugh. The Michigan head coach shared Monday that he’s traded texts with Ono, adding he’d already decided on him as an honorary captain for the Oct. 30 Michigan – Michigan State game in Ann Arbor.
“We haven’t met yet in person. We have texted back and forth,” Harbaugh said of his relationship with Ono. “Just everything you hear from everybody is what a great guy he is … how enthusiastic he is, how engaged he is with everybody, including the students. Just the enjoyment he has of being on a college campus.
“He has tremendous leadership skills. That’s from everybody that I’ve talked to here — also Rick Minter, who was a head coach at Cincinnati when Santa was there. Same thing … everybody just has amazing things to say about him and his tenure at Cincinnati. I’m super excited.”
From crowd surfing to his interaction with the students, openness about past mental health challenges, Ono has made an impression everywhere he’s been. Students at Cincinnati were crushed when he left, as were the Bearcats’ coaches. Ono was known to visit the locker room, give pep talks, even partake in an occasional football practice to catch passes.
Michigan fans and coaches hope he’ll accelerate the Wolverines’ NIL efforts, and in a big way. Head basketball coach Juwan Howard said in August he’d voiced his concerns to those in charge (likely A.D. Warde Manuel) about U-M’s efforts in a changing recruiting world, insisting Michigan “could do better.” He included himself in that, but really, his hands are tied by what’s allowed by the university.
“Transformational, not transactional” is how Harbaugh said he expected Michigan to proceed. At the same time, he hinted Monday they could use more support. He noted it’ was “important” to have a strong relationship with the administration. The previous president, Mark Schlissel, didn’t seem to grasp the relationship between athletics and academics success at a program like Michigan.
“Things are progressing to be progressive. I think that’s important,” Harbaugh said.
Ono will likely make sure of it. The Regents were looking for someone who could check all the boxes, including athletics. They appear to have found the right guy.
“I think everybody here — I know coaches, professors, students are anticipating his arrival,” Harbaugh said. “I’m excited about it. People that are here know him and know what he’s done. They’re excited for his arrival. People who have been where he’s been, people have nothing but fantastic things to say.
“I’m really looking forward to it. We’re going to have him be our honorary captain for the Michigan State game. That will be exciting.”
Time will tell what it means as far as competitive advantage in NIL, but Ono seems to be someone they can bank on to get the most out of it.
