Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh will not be on the sideline Saturday when his team goes for the 1,000th win in program history, or the following week when it plays Ohio State with a trip to the Big Ten championship game on the line.
The university announced Thursday afternoon that the school and Harbaugh have “resolved their pending litigation” with the Big Ten, and Harbaugh has accepted his suspension for the remainder of the regular season.
“This morning, the University, Coach Harbaugh, and the Big Ten resolved their pending litigation. The Conference agreed to close its investigation, and the University and Coach Harbaugh agreed to accept the three-game suspension,” associate athletic director Kurt Svoboda said in a news release. “Coach Harbaugh, with the University’s support, decided to accept this sanction to return the focus to our student-athletes and their performance on the field.
Michigan has no records of Connor Stalions filing any expense reports, FOIA request shows
“The Conference has confirmed that it is not aware of any information suggesting Coach Harbaugh’s involvement in the allegations. The University continues to cooperate fully with the NCAA’s investigation.”
Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, who served as acting head coach last week against Penn State (as well as against Bowling Green in September during a previous, unrelated suspension for Harbaugh), will continue as acting head coach against Maryland in College Park, Maryland, on Saturday and next week against Ohio State in Ann Arbor.
Michigan has no records of Connor Stalions filing any expense reports, FOIA request shows
“The Conference has confirmed that it is not aware of any information suggesting Coach Harbaugh’s involvement in the allegations. The University continues to cooperate fully with the NCAA’s investigation.”
Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, who served as acting head coach last week against Penn State (as well as against Bowling Green in September during a previous, unrelated suspension for Harbaugh), will continue as acting head coach against Maryland in College Park, Maryland, on Saturday and next week against Ohio State in Ann Arbor.
“The University of Michigan is a valued member of the Big Ten Conference and the Conference will continue to work cooperatively with the University and the NCAA during this process.”
This comes after Harbaugh, 59, was suspended by the Big Ten last Friday for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy as it relates to the ongoing sign-stealing investigation surrounding the program. Connor Stalions, a former recruiting staffer, was identified as a person of interest by reports on Oct. 20 that said he violated NCAA rules in obtaining signals from other teams.
Sign-stealing is not against NCAA rules, but in-person scouting and the use of technology to scout are prohibited.
The NCAA reportedly has evidence of Stalions purchasing 35 tickets at 17 different stadiums over three seasons. He allegedly forwarded the tickets to an associate who would record the opponents’ sidelines with their phone and send the videos back to Stalions, who would time them up with the plays and decode the signals. There was also reportedly a spreadsheet that indicated a $15,000 budget for travel and fees associated this year. However, according to information obtained by a FOIA request Wednesday, Stalions never filed any expense reports with the university.
Stalions was also allegedly on the Central Michigan sidelines for a game against Michigan State earlier this season, allegedly wearing Central Michigan gear.
Harbaugh, the Big Ten said, was never directly linked, but is being punished as he represents the program.
The decision came down as the No. 2 Wolverines were en route to University Park, Pennsylvania, for a game against then-No. 9 Penn State. Following the suspension, U-M athletic director Warde Manuel lit into the league in a statement, calling the suspension “unethical” and “insulting.”
“Yesterday, under the guise of the NCAA Rule regarding Head Coach Responsibility the Big Ten decided to penalize Coach Harbaugh without knowing all the facts, and I find that completely unethical, insulting to a well-established process within the NCAA, and an assault on the rights of everyone (especially in the Big Ten) to be judged by a fair and complete investigation,” Manuel’s statement read in part. “Not liking someone or another university or believing without any evidence that they knew or saying someone should have known without an investigation is not grounds to remove someone from their position before the NCAA process has reached a conclusion through a full NCAA investigative process.”
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