Jim Harbaugh has no plans to slow the international travel plans for Michigan football, announcing a couple of hopeful destinations for 2017 on Saturday.
Standing outside Stadio Olimpico in Rome on the team's last day in Italy, Harbaugh told reporters that South Africa and Brazil are on the top of his list, mentioning a pair of South African cities as favorites for next year's trip.
"We'll get together as a team and decide, but I'd really like to go to Cape Town or Johannesburg," Harbaugh said, via MLive.com. "One of those two."
According to MLive, Harbaugh also expressed the desire for more college football programs to embrace trips like this for the benefit of their players.
Michigan's Italy trip has received some criticism from coaches and administrators for creating an unfair advantage, but Harbaugh has been careful to craft the schedule of events so they fall within the bylaws for spring practice and international travel.
Getting more football programs to embrace international travel also means getting more schools to embrace funding and arranging the trip. It's undeniably a great experience for the players and staff.
However, as Dennis Dodd noted, it won't exactly help the Wolverines beat Ohio State. If the gladiator training pays off in 2017 on the field, maybe more teams will end up funding similar trips.
