John Beilein is in his 11th season as the University of Michigan basketball coach. Beilein inherited a Michigan basketball team that was in its final year of scholarship reduction due to the Ed Martin scandal with former Wolverines players.
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It’s been almost 22 years since the infamous scandal involving former Michigan booster Ed Martin giving players money while they attended and played at the University of Michigan. It was a black eye on the University and men’s basketball program that seemed like would never go away, but here it is 22 years later and a poll conducted by CBS sports this past summer has named Beilein the ‘cleanest’ basketball coach in the country.
“I believe you can win Big Ten championships and national championships without compromising academic integrity or ethics,” he says in “Men of March.” “We almost did it (losing in the 2013 championship), and we’re going to try and do it .”
Beilein has maintained the integrity of the program while consistently having the Wolverines in the NCAA tournament, all while recruiting against elite coaches and programs like Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans.
While Beilein might not land top national recruits, what he has done in his 11 years at Michigan is win two Big Ten Championships, gone to the National Championship game, was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2014 and won the Big 10 tournament in 2017. Beilein has the Wolverines on pace to make their 8th NCAA tournament appearance in his 11 years at Michigan.
“The big thing with the NCAA is, ‘What’s the spirit of the rule? Don’t try to find ways around the rule. What’s the spirit of the rule? And if you follow the spirit of the rule, you’ll stay out of trouble.”
As reported by MLive’s Andrew Kahn, this has been an approach that has kept Beilein scandal free for 43 years of coaching, including his 11 years at Michigan. This is something that the Michigan men’s basketball program, the university and the fans can hold their heads up high about after experiencing the dark years of Michigan basketball.
If you would like to watch the “Men’s of March” documentary on John Beilein that CBS sports is running, the episode will re-air on CBS Sports Network on Jan. 14 at 2 p.m., Jan. 17 at 11:30 a.m., Jan. 18 at 1:30 a.m., and Jan. 29 at 9:30 p.m.
