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Dan Murphy, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Jim Harbaugh invites college coaches to Michigan's high school camp

College Football, Michigan Wolverines

If you are a college football coach in America, consider yourself cordially invited to attend Michigan's high school camp this summer.

Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh issued an open invitation Friday on Twitter to any coach willing to travel to Ann Arbor this June to participate in his program's camp, which will likely be filled with some of the top prep players in the area.

Harbaugh's open-door policy cuts firmly against the grain of how other coaches and conferences feel about allowing other schools to set up camp in their backyards.

Michigan is one of a couple of Big Ten programs that will participate in "satellite camps" this summer -- visiting other states to see high school camps as guest coaches and get some face time with potential recruits. Harbaugh plans to be in six different states during a weeklong barnstorming tour in June before returning to Michigan.

Attending camps more than 50 miles away from a school's campus is outlawed in other conferences, giving Big Ten coaches an edge in recruiting outside of their region. The growing practice of setting up satellite camps has drawn some harrumphing from other coaches around the country this week. Alabama's Nick Saban called it "ridiculous." ACC commissioner John Swofford said his league would support a national rule prohibiting satellite camps, and NCAA president Mark Emmert said the topic will be at "the top of list" at the national football oversight committee's upcoming meeting.

Harbaugh's message says he wants Michigan's camp to be a collaborative effort to help the players as much as possible. He sets a goal to get two coaches from every college in America to attend.

"Our vision for the University of Michigan football camp is to bring together players and coaches in all different levels from around the country to provide maximum exposure for our great game of football," it reads.

Coaches from the SEC and ACC are welcome, too. Though their conferences prevent them from being guest coaches at any camps as far away as Michigan, Harbaugh invited them as keynote speakers. He provides instruction for coaches to sign up and signs off with "Sincerely yours in football, Jim Harbaugh."

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