Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 15

WWW.FREEP.COM WEDNESDAY, JAN. 6, 2010 Red Wings at Ducks, Inc. IOWA wiiiiiiii? Ca.Tch14 Bucks .98 ..76 HAMILTON'S 20 POINTS CAN'T SNAP PISTONS' 10-GAME SKID ft 1U -i, nmmm, tmmmamuK 'no? i nUMWI'twi i iiiiH David Brandon hired as U-M's athletic director understands wiat I the guy who it means to be a Michigan a Extra points David Brandon, just asking A few things you might be wondering about Michigan's athletic director: What was his playing career like? He was a pro-style passer recruited by Bump Elliott from South Lyon, which didn't fit with Bo Schembechler's scheme. So Brandon wore No. 85 for Michigan, was listed as a defensive end, and spent a lot of time as the scout team quarterback.

He has no stats in U-M's archive and is listed as a letter winner only for his last season, 1973, though he has three Big Ten championship rings. tk mm il i-MttA ft ft 'fib til 'n, I i A DREW SHARP BLUEVES THE NEW AD WILL TAKE TIME TO GATHER THE FACTS HE NEEDS Brandon's main task: Deciding about Rich Rod If David Brandon desired, he could have run for the governorship of Michigan this year. Brandon, the CEO of Domino's Pizza, is a popular figure in the state Republican Party, but he has opted for another reclamation project requiring a deft political touch: restoring the luster to a tarnished Michigan athletic brand. Can he deliver a winning football program in 30 minutes or less? As U-M's new athletic director, he meets all the genealogical requirements: Bump Elliott recruited him. Bo Schembechler coached him.

Lloyd Carr counsels him. He helped expand Michigan Stadium as a regent and procured millions of dollars for a new children's hospital as a fundraiser. But his sparkling resume full of the business skills essential to run a $90-million athletic corporation will burn to cinders if he blows the only call that matters to most of the Michigan family. Is Rich Rodriguez still the right guy? Those hoping for a coaching change upon Brandon's ascension in March will be disappointed. U-M accelerated the search for Bill Martin's successor because President Mary Sue Coleman knew that whoever got the job would require time to digest the findings of the ongoing NCAA investigate Coleman also couldn't throw a new AD into the fire on Martin's retirement date of Sept 4 just hours before the unveiling of a refurbished football stadium with lavish luxury suites that U-M might have trouble selling because of a bad economy and bad football The new guy needs time.

Time to amass the facts. Time to evaluate those facts. Time to render a verdict on a coach that is so different from the Bo-Mo-Lloyd days. During Brandon's teleconference Tuesday, his comments regarding Rodriguez at first sounded as though they were read from a prepared script: "Rich Rodriguez is the football coach at the University of Michigan. I have great respect for him and look forward to working with him." Any cooler, and Brandon's words could have refrigerated the ice at Yost Arena Later, though, Brandon praised Rodriguez's passion: "I don't need to know him better than I know him today to know that nobody wants to win more than Rich Rodriguez and his staff." Brandon ventures into his new respoasibilities with an open mind, but he doesn't run away from his heritage.

He is a Michigan Man with every breath he takes. He might be the only person capable of bringing together the warring internal sects, saying that "factions and divisiveness are enemies of success." "If there has been any fracturing that has oc- curred as a result of whatever, it's something that needs immediate attention. It needs to be fixed," he said. "And, truthfully, it won't be tolerated" It certainly helps Brandon's cause that he calls himself a graduate of the Bo Schembechler School of Leadership. His acute political instincts will serve him well in a position that basically has become a non-elected political office.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez can't feel comfortable. His new boss didn't hire him and is someone who understands the importance of what Brandon called "brand management" The AD certainly will hear the complaints from longtime supporters who question the direction of the football program. Brandon will have time to figure everything out, and that won't help Rodriguez if the NCAA mcruiry and the 2010 season turn sour. I CONTACT DREW SHARP: 313-22M0S5 OR DShARWRf EPRT5S COM. CATC -SHEP AND SHARP" 36 RM.

WEEKOW5 ON WWM (11301 PAUL SANCYAAswxwted Press David Brandon, shown at a memorial service for Bo Schembechler in 2006, will take a major pay cut in his new role. Domino's CEO had no doubt he wanted the U-M job What does he bring to the table? Businesswise, Domino's Pizza. He's been the CEO for 11 years. He's been a big U-M alumni donor, worked on the fundraising campaign' for Mott Children's Hospital, served on the Board of Regents and was mentioned as a candidate for NFL commissioner (Roger Goodellgotthejob). Does he get along with Rich Rodriguez? Brandon said he doesn't know Rich Rodriguez well, though they've gone to dinner socially.

Said Brandon: "I look forward to getting to know Rich better and to understand how he's approaching that task ahead, and that's turning our football program around and having it be what we all want it to be." Does he have political aspirations? Republicans and some editorial writers have said for years that Brandon would be an ideal candidate for governor, though he's never taken that step. But if he rights Michigan's football ship Where have you seen him before? Brandon did a couple commercials, including one during the bailout frenzy in which he offered "hard-working people on Main Street" a "Domino's Big Taste Bailout." And a few years ago, he sat on a CEO panel on Donald Trump's "The Apprentice." So he knows how to say, "You're fired!" What are they saying about the hire? I Lloyd Carr: "David Brandon brings a resume as a proven leader with a comprehensive knowledge of the institution and understanding of intercollegiate athletics." I Rich Rodriguez: "He has been a successful leader in business, and I'm sure all of our teams will benefit from his experience." Pizza), 35 years in business, eight years as a regent, fund-raising with Lloyd Carr, playing for Bo Schembechler and, as he stressed, a love of his school. "Anybody who puts on that winged helmet and anybody who runs through that tunnel understands what this place is all about," Brandon said, "and I do." Forbes magazine estimated that Brandon received $3.2 million in compensation from Ann Arbor-based Domino's in 2008. At U-M, after the regents approve his contract at their Jan. 21 meeting, he will have a five-year deal worth $525,000 annually, plus $100,000 per year in deferred compensation, plus bonuses.

I BRANDON FORGED A LASTING FRIENDSHIP WITH SCHEMBECHLER. SB I FOOTBALL ISSUES AWAIT NEW AD. 1A the time. "This is what I want to do," Brandon said in a teleconference. "I'm appreciative of a lot of people who suggested I could do other things serving the public good.

For me, what it's all about is having a positive impact on the lives of people. I'm sure you can do that in politics. I'm sure you can do that running companies. "I know you can do that as the athletic director at the University of Michigan." Brandon, who succeeds the retiring Bill Martin, said he was contacted a few weeks ago by a search firm and then had an extended meeting with Coleman and her advisory committee, during which he "told his story." That story is one of 22 years as a CEO (the last 11 with Domino's By MARK SNYDER FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER When David Brandon was approached by University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman, he didn't hesitate. He wanted to be the next athletic director at his alma mater, and told her so.

Brandon, 57, would be leaving behind life as a multimillion-dol-lar-a-year CEO, plus worldwide business prestige and speculation that he should enter the state's gubernatorial race. He knew he would be taking a huge pay cut around 80 as it turned out. But Brandon still wanted to be U-M's 11th athletic director. His appointment, effective March 8, was announced Tuesday by Coleman, whom Brandon had helped hire away from Iowa nearly eight years ago. He was a U-M regent at MEND A DONT FORGET FOCUS ON THE NCAA I' RROKFN THE LITTLE 1 FOOTBALL BUILD UP THE EVEN BIGGER BIG HOUSE I FOOTBALL FAMILY FIRST HOUSE, TOO INQUIRY Get 'er done David Brandon officially will become Michigan's next athletic director March 8.

Bill Martin, the AD since 2000, then will become a consultant until he retires at the unveiling of the renovated Big House on Sept. 4. Nobody asked, but here's a to-do list for the new guy: End the divisions within the Wolverines Nation, which have been especially apparent since Lloyd Carr's final season in 2007. Fill the luxury suites and premium seats at revamped Michigan Stadium to keep the money flowing into the athletic coffers. Shepherd Martin's laid-out plans to renovate outdated Crisler Arena to the finish line.

Hoops program needs to remain on the rebound. Any investigation -especially one that progresses to the "notice of inquiry" stage -is an embarrassment Prevent another one. Rich Rodriguez has an 8-16 record with four years on his contract. Figure out how to guarantee that victorious Saturdays are ahead..