Jim Harbaugh won’t have his day in court after all.
Harbaugh will serve the remainder of his three-game suspension after Michigan and the Big Ten announced Thursday they have resolved their legal dispute. The announcement came less than 24 hours before attorneys representing the two sides were scheduled to deliver arguments in front of a Washtenaw County judge as Michigan sought a court order to keep Harbaugh on the sideline.
Advertisement
The Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for the remainder of the regular season as punishment for Michigan’s scouting and sign-stealing scandal. The decision to accept the suspension means he will miss Saturday’s game at Maryland and Michigan’s regular-season finale against Ohio State.
The Big Ten agreed to close its investigation, while an NCAA inquiry remains ongoing.
“The conference has confirmed that it is not aware of any information suggesting Coach Harbaugh’s involvement in the allegations,” Michigan said in a statement. “The university continues to cooperate fully with the NCAA’s investigation.”
The Big Ten announced Harbaugh’s suspension Friday afternoon as the team was traveling to State College, Pa. The university filed a motion hours later for a temporary restraining order that would allow Harbaugh to coach while Michigan challenged the suspension. A judge declined to issue an immediate ruling and scheduled a hearing for Friday morning to hear arguments from both sides.
GO DEEPER
Jim Harbaugh's turbulent Michigan 2023 timeline
Harbaugh said Monday he intended to speak at the hearing.
“I’m just looking for that opportunity, due process,” he said. “I’m not looking for special treatment. I’m not looking for a popularity contest. I’m just looking for the merits of what the case is.”
Michigan is 10-0 and sits at No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings. The Wolverines will have a chance to claim the 1,000th victory in program history Saturday against Maryland before facing Ohio State in a game that will determine the champion of the Big Ten East. Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore served as the Wolverines’ acting head coach in Saturday’s victory against Penn State and will continue in that role while Harbaugh serves the rest of his suspension.
“Today’s decision by the University of Michigan to withdraw its legal challenge against the Conference’s November 10th Notice of Disciplinary Action is indicative of the high standards and values that the Conference and the University seek to uphold,” the Big Ten said in a statement. “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.”
Advertisement
Why did the sides agree to end their legal dispute?
Neither Michigan nor the Big Ten wanted the spectacle of a member school taking the conference to court. It was far from a sure thing that the judge would side with Michigan and intervene in a Big Ten matter, and continuing to pursue legal action created a risk of prolonging the drama surrounding Harbaugh’s suspension.
In its notice of disciplinary action, the Big Ten reserved the right to impose additional penalties if more information came to light. Thursday’s announcement means the league will step aside and await the results of the NCAA’s investigation rather than seeking more information. That clears the path for Harbaugh to return for the postseason, assuming the NCAA doesn’t intervene before then.
Harbaugh’s suspension was bitterly disappointing to many at Michigan, but continuing to battle the Big Ten in a public way would have made it difficult to keep the focus on the team. This way, Michigan can move forward with clarity under Moore and concentrate on winning its final two games.
What will Harbaugh’s absence mean for the team?
The fate of this season now rests with Moore, who is 2-0 as Michigan’s acting head coach and got a strong endorsement from Harbaugh earlier this week.
“Sherrone is the best of the best,” Harbaugh said. “Nobody had doubts about Sherrone Moore (and) his dedication, his connection, his commitment to the team.”
Harbaugh will miss two hugely significant games: Saturday’s trip to Maryland and the year-end showdown against Ohio State. Not having Harbaugh on the sideline for the potential milestone victory will be a bitter pill, but he can still coach during the week and Michigan has won four games without him so far.
“On game days, I don’t see it being any different,” defensive line coach Mike Elston said. “He has put his imprint on this staff and on this team. Whether he’s with us on gameday or not, we know what the direction is. We know the course of the program as he’s laid that out.”
Required reading
(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57lGltcm5kaXxzfJFsZmppX2aDcLnInJ%2Bin5Gjequ1zGafmqqSlsKotIyboKBlpJq7br%2FUrKeepqOevK950Z6qqKSlqbawuo4%3D