Big Ten Suspends Michigan's Jim Harbaugh For Three Games In Sign-Stealing Scheme; Here's What's Next

Three weeks after the NCAA began investigating the Michigan football program for alleged sign-stealing, the Big Ten has suspended Jim Harbaugh for the remainder of the regular season. After numerous conversations with conference ADs, coaches and presidents, the pressure was mounting for commissioner Tony Petitti to make a decision.

Harbaugh still will be allowed to coach during the week, but not on game day, through the conclusion of the regular season. Michigan has three games left: Saturday at Penn State, Nov. 18 at Maryland and Nov. 25 at home against Ohio State. The news originally was reported by ESPN.

Here are the details of the punishment, from the official Big Ten press release:

The Big Ten Conference announced today that the University of Michigan has been found in violation of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy for conducting an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition. 

The release continues:

As a penalty imposed on the institution, the University football team must compete without its Head Football Coach for the games remaining in the 2023 regular-season, effective immediately. This disciplinary action shall not preclude the University or its football team from having its Head Football Coach attend practices or other football team activities other than the game activities to which it applies. For clarity, the Head Football Coach shall not be present at the game venue on the dates of the games to which this disciplinary action applies.  

Following meetings last weekend between Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and Michigan officials in Ann Arbor, the conference gave Michigan until this past Wednesday to respond to the notice of pending punishment from the Big Ten.

The conference did not announce any type of punishment on Thursday, which was a clear sign that the Wolverines were not going to agree to just take a penalty. Lawyers representing the Wolverines have made it clear to Tony Petitti that the school would not just take a punishment, just so it would go away.

Michigan officials made enough noise behind the scenes over the past week that caused Tony Petitti to second-guess a suspension, knowing the ramifications that would follow.

"They (Michigan) know that the Big Ten has rushed this whole situation," a Power-5 AD told OutKick. "And, they're using it to their advantage, especially with the NCAA continuing to dig. For the conference to decide on a punishment without a full investigation completed has caused other schools administrators around college football to take notice. The problem for Tony (Petitti) is that he's setting a pretty bad precedent, while only being on the job for not even a year.

"His other problem is that schools have seen how easy it is to force movement from the conference. Think about it, this whole situation is about a month old. How can you expect members of any conference to have faith in their leader if they are willing to rush a monumental decision like this? I don't envy my peers."

Michigan Was Not Going To Just Tap Out, Take Penalty

Michigan made it clear to the Big Ten that they'd fight any type of penalty. Even if the conference decided to only levy a substantial fine, lawyers representing the school made it clear to the Big Ten that they would not agree to any mediation.

The ongoing saga has become the top story of the 2023 college football season, with Connor Stalions becoming a household name. This comes after the former Michigan analyst was alleged to have formulated a plan to scout opposing teams, by sending folks to more than 40 games in the past two years.

For the Big Ten, it reached a boiling point with conference athletic directors and coaches. On one side, Michigan was trying to save face by saying Connor Stalions resigned this past Friday. They put out a statement saying as much, while adding that they couldn’t comment further. This move was obviously a formulated plan to make it seem as if Stalions was taking the fall for Jim Harbaugh.

In a way, it worked. One of the reasons why the decision was made that Stalions had to go was his reluctancy to work with Michigan investigators. Simply put, he wasn't talking, while also hiring a lawyer to handle his side of the case. Stalions had been previously suspended with pay, while the NCAA investigated the claims.

Michigan's Jim Harbaugh Maintained His Innocence, President Santa Ono Urged 'Due Process'

Michigan president Santa Ono sent a letter to Tony Petittt on Friday, urging him not to rush a decision on the matter.

“The reputation and livelihoods of coaches, students, and programs cannot be sacrificed in a rush to judgment, no matter how many and how loudly people protest otherwise. Due process matters," Santa Ono wrote in-part to Tony Petitti.

Now, the Big Ten feels it has enough evidence to suspend Jim Harbaugh. Since the start of the investigation, and chatter about Stalions, Harbaugh maintained his innocence.

In a statement released on October 19th, Harbaugh noted that he was not aware of anyone on his staff being part of the alleged actions. Also, the Michigan head coach let it be known that he did not direct any staff member to scout opponents in the manner which is alleged.

"I do not have any knowledge or information regarding the University of Michigan football program illegally stealing signals, nor have I directed any staff member or others to participate in an off-campus scouting assignment," Harbaugh said on October 19th. "I have no awareness of anyone on our staff having done that or having directed that action."

Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines speaks to media during the post game press conference at Michigan State. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)

Jim Harbaugh Should've Known, According To Big Ten

It's the job of a head coach to know what is going on inside their program, and this is where the Big Ten seems to be pointing the finger at Harbaugh. Even though Connor Stalions tried to save the Michigan head coach from punishment, this was never going to work in reality.

NCAA rules clearly state that the head coach of a program can be punished for the actions of his subordinates, which is clearly how the Big Ten is approaching this matter. There is also the 'sportsmanship policy' within the conference, that commissioner Tony Petitti could use to justify punishment of those who violate the rules.

How Will Michigan Handle The Situation?

The next steps in this matter is Michigan filing an injunction in court, which would allow Jim Harbaugh to coach this weekend. Going forward it will be interesting to see how the school responds in the longterm, knowing the Big Ten leveled this suspension.

Most likely, this will get held up in court for the next few months, with Michigan knowing it allows Harbaugh to continue leading the program. If the court system holds up a potential injunction, this would lead to a prolonged legal process, which would only help Harbaugh.

The Big Ten has certainly laid down the gauntlet, but Tony Petitti has done his job, he suspended Harbaugh. Handing down the suspension, knowing that Michigan would take it to court, was hopefully part of Petitti's plan.

He can now wash his hands of this, towards Big Ten school's wanting him to take action. He has now done this, but he does not control the court system. So, his work is done, and can tell other schools he has done everything he can.

The ongoing saga at Michigan continues.