I have lived my entire life on every possible side of the Ohio State-Michigan college football rivalry, often cited as the greatest rivalry in sports. Through relocations and my admitted disdain for certain SEC-turned B1G (Big Ten) coaches, my loyalties have shifted through the years. I have always respected both programs, and I have made lasting friendships in both Columbus and Ann Arbor. Still, the intense battle between celebrity coaches Jim Harbaugh and Urban Meyer is quickly becoming the reincarnation of the “Ten-Year War,” In a rare moment of serendipity, however, the two college football powerhouse programs and coaches, along with a coalition of allies, are in the midst of a month-long campaign to undo one of the most hotly-contested decisions regarding the sport in many moons: the banning of satellite camps.In addition to upping the level of competition and effort within the team’s roster and making attention-getting appearances in social media, rap concerts, and even WWE wrestling events, Harbaugh has taken the Michigan brand on the road to much consternation among his coaching contemporaries. Most especially, Harbaugh spent much of last summer and this past spring break hosting football events far away from the confines of Ann Arbor. These events, known as satellite camps brought the wrath of the opposition, and ultimately, NCAA authorities. Although satellite camps have been a common occurrence in college football for years, it was Harbaugh’s barnstorming through the South, and the highly-guarded ACC and SEC territory ala W.T. Sherman that brought condemnation, conducting camps last summer in Alabama, Florida, and Texas, followed by a spring-break camp this year at the famed IMG sports academy in Bradenton, Florida.Needless to say, most of the ACC and SEC member schools had a big problem with Harbaugh’s “summer swarm” tour, which has helped to market Michigan in fertile recruiting soil, leading the well-endowed program to achieve one of the best recruiting classes in program history. Combined, the aforementioned conferences have won 10 of the past 11 national championships and four of the eight College Football Playoff representatives in the new format’s two-year history. Both the ACC and the SEC have carefully crafted rules protecting conference member’s recruiting territories and preventing other conference schools from poaching a particular school’s top local talent. Michigan, of course, is a member of the B1G conference, where there are no such restrictions.

Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson was one of two smaller conferences to vote in support of the satellite camp ban, with some questioning the logic behind the vote. Photo courtesy of USA Today

In fact, as reality hits in that satellite camps have been an integral part of college recruiting for years, and even though Harbaugh certainly exploited the process to a bombastic degree, the April 8th vote may have been an even more emphatic overreaction that ultimately proves to be self-defeating. As days have now turned into weeks since the committee vote, and member institutions realize the ramifications of their vote, the ban will be certainly be re-examined at the very least. More likely, the ban will either be revised to allow some satellite camps, whether be in coordination with smaller schools, or to limit them within a certain geographical territory. It is also within reasons that the ban may be repealed outright, although that decision will likely enflame the southern strongholds even more. In the days leading up to the NCAA Board meeting, coaches and athletic directors will likely be selling their case and/or generating a furious debate throughout traditional and social media circles. Harbaugh for one will be continuing his publicity tour, speaking last Thursday at a coaches’ clinic sponsored by the Horatio Williams Foundation in Detroit, saying about a revision of the ban, “I think you’re seeing and will see more and more evidence. If we can keep the topic in front of people, we’re for that.” Additional Reading: ESPN – Dan MurphyFox Sports – Stewart MandellSI.com- Andy StaplesMLive.com – Matt Wenzel