Why Michigan football's 2025 spring game will not be aired live on TV
Michigan defensive run game coordinator and linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary talks to Maize Team players during the second half of the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 20, 2024.
Michigan football's annual Maize and Blue spring game, scheduled to be held at 11 a.m. April 19 at the Big House, will not be televised live in part for strategic reasons.
Program spokesman Dave Ablauf told media members who were gathered for Wednesday's availability at Schembechler Hall that instead of airing on game day, the spring game will be tape delayed until the next weekend, at which time it will be played on Big Ten Network.
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On April 19, instead, BTN will air U-M's men's lacrosse home game against Ohio State.
Earlier this week, head coach Sherrone Moore made it clear the spring game is important to the program.
'We're playing it,' Moore said Monday. 'It's a great opportunity for our players — and our fans — to be out there, and just see the team in general. Now, we're not going to run every single play and do every single thing, but it's a great opportunity — especially for the guys that may not get the opportunity to play in the Big House on Saturdays as much as others."
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The timing of when the game will finally air is not perceived as a coincidence: The football spring transfer portal window will be open from April 16-25, and the hope from U-M's perspective is by not creating additional tape for opposing coaches to see, they will be less inclined to attempt to poach players.
The hope, also, by not airing the game as it happens, is that it will drive many more fans to attend in person. When Jim Harbaugh first arrived at U-M the spring game started to become a notable event once again. The program had more than 50,000 people at the event in 2015, nearly 55,000 in 2017 and in 2019, U-M drew 60,000 people to its annual spring game, which represents the conclusion of spring ball5.
There were no games in 2020 or 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but since then, attendance numbers have dwindled.
While there was no clear attendance total from 2022, a Free Press count in 2023 suggested fewer than 30,000 fans in attendance. In 2024, on the heels of a national championship, there appeared to be roughly 31,000.
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Michigan is far from the only program to make alterations to its spring schedule. Penn State recently announced it will not televise its spring game in any capacity, while programs such as Michigan State, Alabama, Auburn, Florida State have opted not to have a game, but instead various events such as a "combine" or a normal practice.
Michigan's game is free to attend for the public, with the same rules and regulations as a normal game for what is allowed into the stadium.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football spring game 2025 will not be aired live on TV
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