© Rick Osentoski/Imagine
In the ongoing battle between college athletes and the NCAA, it appears that the NCAA is beginning to retake the upper hand after recent victories in the courtroom. But a newly shared practice schedule from a former Michigan Wolverines football player shows exactly why NCAA athletes feel they should be designated as employees.
The schedule comes from former Michigan defensive back Jourdan Lewis, who recently signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars after several years with the Dallas Cowboys. Lewis shared the schedule in response to the sudden retirement of Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams.
The suggestion Lewis made is that Williams did not want to take part in Jim Harbaugh’s offseason schedule, which Lewis was privy to when he played under Harbaugh at Michigan.
We did this everyday, 6 days a week, for a month. Mike I ain’t talking bad about you, I just know 😭😭😭😭😭. pic.twitter.com/A8rI1eRnmg
— Jourdan Lewis (@JourdanJD) July 17, 2025
According to Lewis, Michigan players practiced six days a week over the summer and adhered to following schedule:
6:30 AM: Wake Up
6:30-7:30 AM: Breakfast/Treatment
7:30-8:15 AM: Lift/Meetings
8:30-10 AM: Walk Through
10-11 AM: Treatment/Eat
11-11:30 AM: Special Teams Meeting
11:30 AM-12:30 PM: Offense/Defense Meetings
12:30-1 PM: Treatment/Eat
1-2 PM: Offense/Defense Meetings
2-3 PM: Eat/Dress/Tape/Prehab
3-6 PM: Practice
6:15-7 PM: Lift/Meetings
7-8 PM: Treatment/Eat
8-8:30 PM: Special Teams Meetings
8:30-10 PM: Offense/Defense Meetings
10-10:30 PM: Eat
11 PM: Curfew.
So, to sum everything up, that is a 16.5-hour day where everything is meticulously scheduled out. Players then get to sleep for about 6-7 hours before waking up and doing it all again.
If that doesn’t warrant employee status, then what does? Harbaugh had complete and utter control of his players’ lives from the moment they woke up to the moment they went to bed for a month straight.
You have to imagine the schedule also isn’t too much different from what you see at FBS programs across the country, too. So it’s easy to see where players are coming from when they say they want either a little more control of their lives or more money.