Barack and Michelle Obama Turned Down Jim Harbaugh's Offer to be Honorary Michigan Captains

President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have declined Jim Harbaugh’s invitation to serve as honorary Michigan football captains.

In an interview with WXYZ’s Brad Galli, the Wolverines coach said he followed through with his long-shot request but the high-profile couple couldn’t fit a Saturday Ann Arbor visit into their schedule.

The president and the first lady both were as gracious as they could be,” Harbaugh said. “They worked very hard to try to come. They’re not going to be able to unfortunately make it this year.”

Although Harbaugh encountered some disappointment here, the “this year” part of his quoteis interesting. Seems as though an attempt to woo the Obamas to campus will be happening in 2018.

If that happens, previous honorary captains like Tom Brady and Derek Jeter will be knocked down a peg. Poor Adam Schefter, who served in the role this last week, will be forgotten.

As a reminder, Harbaugh has finished third in the Big Ten East in both of his years at Michigan. Who is he going to seek if he finishes second? Or first?

Hillary Clinton will actually be in Ann Arbor the week of the Rutgers game. Surely she’d be interested in an event with 80,000 or so Midwestern voters. Harbaugh attended one of her rallies during the campaign.