ANN ARBOR, MI – DECEMBER 30: Jim Harbaugh speaks as he is introduced as the new Head Coach of the University of Michigan football team at the Junge Family Champions Center on December 30, 2014 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
NFLBy Alex Putterman on

As if to specifically laugh in the face of his detractors, Jim Harbaugh keeps going further and further afield with his satellite camps.

A day after the revelation that Michigan coaches would hold camps in Australia, the world learned Thursday that the Wolverines will also be visiting American Samoa, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean as part of their expansive outreach efforts.

The announcement came from the vice chairman of the territory’s Republican party, who declared that Harbaugh’s assistants will be in American Samoa on June 1 and the head coach himself will run a camp June 30.

If you were wondering, American Samoa is about 11,00 miles from Michigan’s campus, and the flight is about 19 and a half hours. It’s as if Harbaugh decided Australia wasn’t a remote enough location and he had to one-up himself with something wilder.

Of course, it makes sense for a football coach to want to court players from American Samoa. Former NFL stars like Troy Polamalu and Junior Seau were of Samoan descent, as are many current professional players. As of a year ago, there were 30 players from American Samoa in the NFL and more than 200 in Division I college football, and a Samoan male was 56 times more likely to play in the NFL than an American non-Samoan, according to Forbes.

With the additions of American Samoa and Hawaii (also announced Thursday) to Michigan’s satellite camp lineup, the maize and blue now have camps planned in 16 states, one territory and one foreign country.

Harbaugh’s satellite camp empire has already caused quite a stir, with many SEC coaches objecting to Michigan’s presence in the South. The camps were banned by the Division I Council last month, before the NCAA overturned the action.

Now, Harbaugh is making clear he’s not just trying to take over the American South, he’s trying to take over the South Pacific as well.

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.

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