Michigan Stadium tunnel will widen without portable seating

By The Associated Press

FILE - Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, bottom right, leads his team out of the Michigan Stadium tunnel before an NCAA college football game against Wisconsin in Ann Arbor, Mich., Nov. 14, 2020. Michigan Stadium's tunnel will be a little wider next season. The school confirmed Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, that it will remove a portable section of seats from the front of the tunnel to give players, coaches and staff members more room to enter and exit the football field. (AP Photo/Tony Ding, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Tony Ding]

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Stadium’s tunnel will be a little wider next season. The school confirmed Monday that it will remove a portable section of seats from the front of the tunnel to give players, coaches and staff members more room to enter and exit the football field. A total of 45 portable seats will be lost and enough standing-room only tickets are expected to be added in the stadium to keep its capacity at 107,601. Previously, fans were close enough to touch coaches and players as one did last season with Michigan State’s Mel Tucker. That was well before the postgame altercation between Spartans and Wolverines players that led to suspensions and criminal charges.