Head coach not allowed to accompany Wolverines during games amid investigation into university for sign theft
The Big Ten suspended Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh for the remainder of the regular season as the conference punishes the program under its sportsmanship policies amid the NCAA’s investigation into the university’s in-person sign theft.
The decision was announced Friday as the No. 3 Wolverines (9-0) traveled to face the No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions (8-1) for a crucial road game on Saturday.
Michigan was found to be in violation of the Big Ten’s sportsmanship policies for «conducting an impermissible in-person study operation for several years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of the competition,» the conference declared to through a statement.
In its report, the Big Ten cited allowing the team to complete its season and Jim Harbaugh being the public face of the program as reasons for the penalty, although the penalty was imposed against Michigan.
«This is not a sanction against coach Jim Harbaugh,» the conference said in its report. «It is a sanction against the university that, under the extraordinary circumstance presented by this offensive conduct, best fits the violation.»
Jim Harbaugh’s suspension only prevents him from being on the bench on game days, as he is allowed to coach the team for the rest of the week.
His status for Michigan’s game against Penn State could depend on a court ruling. In a statement, Michigan President Santa Ono said the school is seeking a court order «preventing this disciplinary action from taking effect.»
Additionally, in the statement Ono expressed his dissatisfaction with what he considers to have been a rushed process on the part of the Big Ten.
«Like all members of the Big Ten Conference, we are entitled to a fair, deliberate and reasoned process to determine all the facts before a judgment is made,» Ono said in a statement.
«Today’s action by Commissioner Tony Petitti ignores the conference’s own manual, violates basic principles of due process, and sets an unsustainable precedent of assessing punishments before an investigation is concluded. We are dismayed by the commissioner’s rush to issue a trial when there is an ongoing NCAA investigation, one in which we are cooperating fully.»
Jim Harbaugh’s suspension comes more than three weeks after the Big Ten unusually announced the NCAA’s investigation into Michigan’s alleged illegal sign stealing on Oct. 19.
The timing of the league’s sanction comes in part because Michigan asked for an extra day to respond to a notice of possible punishment, which arrived Wednesday afternoon. The response from both the university and Jim Harbaugh was lengthy, requiring the Big Ten to take time to review and possibly respond.
According to sources, the Big Ten on Thursday requested documents from the NCAA that required approval from Michigan, which ended up delaying the final decision.
The Wolverines have three games remaining in the regular season against Penn State on Saturday in Happy Valley, then at Maryland and finally at home to face rival Ohio State.
The line for Saturday’s game was originally at Wolverines -4.5 at most casinos before Jim Harbaugh’s punishment was announced this Friday. The line dropped to Michigan -4 (-115) on ESPN BET after the initial report, but remained steady at -4.5 at most sportsbooks (ESPN BET odds provided by PENN Entertainment).
The Big Ten’s punishment does not conclude the NCAA’s ongoing investigation into allegations of off-campus scouting and sign stealing by former Michigan assistant Connor Stalions.
In 1994, the NCAA banned off-campus study and in-person future rivals during the same season. There has only been one known policy violation in college football, in November 2016, when then-Baylor assistant Jeff Lebby was suspended in the first half of the game against Oklahoma after being benched the previous week when Oklahoma faced Tulsa.
Stalions, a Naval Academy graduate who became a Marine Corps captain before joining the Michigan staff in 2022, resigned from his position last Friday after initially being suspended with pay, pending of the result. Of the investigation. Sources told ESPN that the Stalions refused to attend a meeting with Michigan officials or comply with the NCAA investigation, possibly on the advice of an attorney. In a statement released to The Athletic, Stalions attorney Brad Beckworth said the Stalions had no knowledge that Jim Harbaugh or other members of the Michigan staff told anyone to violate rules regarding studying rivals off campus. . , nor that they were aware of such activities.
«I don’t want to be a distraction from what I hope is a championship path for the team, and I will continue to cheer them on,» Stalions said in the statement to The Athletic.
On Oct. 18, the NCAA notified Michigan and the Big Ten that it was investigating allegations of off-campus sign stealing by the Wolverines. The Big Ten initially informed Michigan State and Michigan’s upcoming in-conference rivals, saying in a statement that they would «continue to monitor the [NCAA’s] investigation.»
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement that the athletic department would cooperate fully with the NCAA and remained «committed to the highest standards of ethics and integrity for all members of our community.» Jim Harbaugh, in a statement, said he and his staff would also cooperate, and that he «did not have any knowledge or information regarding the theft of illegal signs from the University of Michigan football program, nor have I directed any staff member to «. or other people who participate in off-campus rival study assignments.
After ESPN reported that the Stalions had purchased tickets for games at 12 of the Big Ten’s other 13 stadiums and for games involving potential College Football Playoff rivals for Michigan, the Big Ten hinted that its participation would increase through the sportsmanship policies, which gives Petitti «exclusive authority» to determine violations and propose punishments. A Big Ten source told ESPN on Oct. 24 that the league could intervene before the NCAA’s lengthy investigation and infractions process is complete, but would like to have «a full picture of what the facts really are, if we had «. that will act.»
Petitti’s urgency to act increased last week after ESPN first reported on Oct. 30 that Central Michigan was investigating a man it could not identify who looked like the Stalions and appeared on the team’s bench dressed in . provided for CMU for the season opener on Sept. 1 against Michigan State. The unidentified man had one of the 50 bench credentials that teams are allowed for non-squad personnel.
After Petitti he had calls on consecutive days with Big Ten coaches and athletic directors, several of whom expressed displeasure with Michigan — Jim Harbaugh and Manuel were not on the calls at the time — and urged the commissioner to impose a punishment . This Friday, Petitti met with Michigan President Santa Ono on campus and explained the evidence he had about sign theft, according to sources. Ono had sent an email to Petitti the night before the meeting – he shared the letter with other Big Ten presidents and chancellors – and asked the commissioner to respect due process and the ongoing NCAA investigation before punishing.