U-M starting running back Mike Hart has been logging internet time in keeping up with the head coach search. But he won’t need to spend any more time following his own program’s search as the University announced this afternoon that West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez will be the next head coach of the Michigan Wolverines.

Here is a snippet of Athletic Director Bill Martin’s statement to the Associated Press:

“I am thrilled to have Rich Rodriguez as Michigan’s new coach. Rich brings an exciting brand of football to Michigan Stadium. We welcome the entire Rodriguez family to Ann Arbor.”

Coach Rodriguez will be formally introduced at a press conference tomorrow morning. MGoBlue.com will provide a live video stream of the press conference, and it will be archived for playback on demand. While Lloyd Carr will still coach the Wolverines in the Capital One Bowl, Rodriguez will not be at the helm for WVU’s Fiesta Bowl matchup against Oklahoma.

Good hire for U-M!

In another news, congratulations are in order as Mike received his degree from Michigan during today’s fall commencement exercises.

Coach Lloyd Carr expects both Mike Hart and Chad Henne to be 100% for the Wolverines’ bowl game in Florida on New Year’s Day.

With how Carr has historically handled updates on player injuries, that he believes the duo will be full strength is encouraging news for fans.

We will all have to wait until January 1st, to see just how effective they are against the Florida Gators.

The Associated Press has revealed its 2007 All-America team and Mike Hart has made the 2nd Team roster.

Once again, he is joined by some of his Michigan teammates in receiving All-America honors. Wide Receiver Mario Manningham also made the 2nd team, while Offensive Tackle Jake Long was named to the 1st team.

The Sports Illustrated All-America team has also been released and Hart has achieved Honorable Mention recognition there.

So, it’s a dead period for college football. Most of the awards ceremonies are over and the teams that have earned the right to play in a bowl are focusing on preparing their respective games. Michigan is prepping for the Florida Gators, led by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

But for the seniors, there is an additional spotlight that comes with a bowl game. And that is in respect to the upcoming NFL draft. Unless they are playing in the 2008 Under Armour Senior Bowl, the last opportunity to showcase their on-the-field talent in a gameday environment is a bowl game. Although he has been invited, it is unknown whether or not Mike Hart will participate.

He is being projected on a couple of websites as a late first round draft pick, as well as the top senior running back prospect. However, something to keep in mind is that most of these projections are only using seniors and not underclassmen who may later forego their collegiate eligibility and make the jump to professional football.

Since he will have completed his coursework at the University of Michigan (graduating December 16th), following the Capital One Bowl, Mike’s attention will likely turn towards February’s NFL Combine. The official invitee list will be released February 1st.

At last night’s College Football Awards in Orlando, we already know that Mike Hart did not win the Doak Walker Award. However, he did leave Florida with a different honor.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation announced its 1st and 2nd team All-American selections and Mike was named to the second team for the 2nd consecutive year. He is joined on the 2nd team by teammates Shawn Crable and Mario Manningham, while Jake Long was named to the 1st team.

To see the complete All-American team, please see the Walter Camp Foundation website release.

Arkansas running back, and 2006 recipient, Darren McFadden made it 2 years in a row as he was awarded the 2007 Doak Walker Award last night at the ESPN College Football Awards.

Mike Hart was on hand for the awards ceremony, as were his Wolverine teammates Mario Manningham and Jake Long, who were up for awards as well.

Here is a picture of Mike during the live ESPN telecast:

Mike Hart is in Lake Buena Vista, FL for the College Football Awards. Since it was the night before the big show, the ESPN Club hosted a dinner for all of the finalists and also did quick chats with them, which are now posted online.

You can Mike’s fan chat here.

The 2007 Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards will air live on ESPN, Thursday, Dec. 6, from 7:30-9:30 p.m. ET. As previously mentioned, Mike Hart is a finalist for the Doak Walker Award.

The finalists for the 2007 Heisman Trophy were announced today, and to no one’s surprise Mike Hart was not on the list. The finalists are Colt Brennan (Hawaii), Chase Daniel (Missouri), Darren McFadden (Arkansas), and Tim Tebow (Florida). Hart finished 5th in the 2006 Heisman balloting.

Having missed 3 full games and portions of several others this season, due to injury, leaves fans wondering what might have been. Prior to suffering a high ankle sprain during the Purdue game, Hart led the nation in rushing and had just become Michigan’s all-time rushing leader.

Although he will not be in New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation, I’d like to think that receiving the Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player from his teammates, whom he would scale mountains for, is just as gratifying.

If you were (or are) planning on attending the Capital One Bowl between Michigan and Florida, it just got a little bit more difficult.

Less than a day after it was announced that Michigan would face Florida in the game, tickets were sold out! Florida Citrus Sports then added temporary bleachers and put those seats on sale. Those went fast too!

However, if you are a student at the University of Michigan, you will have a chance to score tickets to the game. The student section tickets are now on sale, so don’t wait too long or they’ll sell out as well!

For more info on how to obtain tickets, please see the release on the official Michigan athletics website.

The Michigan Wolverines will go “bowling” in Orlando, FL where they will meet the Florida Gators in the Capital One Bowl. The game is set for New Year’s Day.

It took a few more Top 10 upsets to help things along for U-M. With Wisconsin and Penn State accepting bowl bids earlier this week, many were fearing the worse in terms of Michigan scoring a high profile bowl game. But with the shake-ups in the BCS over the past few weeks helped Illinois get selected for the Rose Bowl, thus freeing up the Capital One Bowl for Michigan.

The Capital One Bowl gives Mike Hart, and his senior teammates, a chance to close out their collegiate careers with a victory. The game will be broadcast on ABC at 1PM (ET).