Michigan football HC Jim Harbaugh has accepted his three-game suspension— which includes this past Saturday’s win at Penn State— and won’t coach for the rest of the team’s regular season, Michigan announced Thursday.
🚨NEWS: Michigan & Jim Harbaugh have accepted his 3-game suspension from the Big Ten.
He will miss both games vs. Maryland & Ohio State👀
Details: https://t.co/xc09JR3pxz pic.twitter.com/iS5v03dEoe
— On3 (@On3sports) November 16, 2023
This suspension, of course, is the result of Michigan being investigated by the Big Ten and NCAA for alleged illegal sign-stealing.
Harbaugh won’t coach at Maryland this weekend and, more importantly, won’t be coaching Nov. 25 when Ohio State comes to Ann Arbor for the annual showdown.
Ohio State and Michigan are current No’s 2 and 3 in the College Football Playoff Rankings, respectively. The team’s are responsible for the last seven Big Ten championships, with Michigan winning the last two.
In the Big Ten’s statement, the conference says it’s closed its investigation into Harbaugh. Harbaugh had filed at Temporary Restraining Order and there was supposed to be a hearing Friday at the Washtenaw County Courthouse. But the court formally dismissed the case.
“This morning,” the statement reads, “the University, Coach Harbaugh, and the Big Ten resolved their pending litigation,” the university’s statement read. “The Conference agreed to close its investigation, and the University and Coach Harbaugh agreed to accept the three-game suspension. 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. 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.”
Harabugh’s been Michigan’s coach since before the 2015 season. His overall record is 82-25 and he’s 59-17 in the Big Ten. Those numbers won’t change until the postseason, barring any further punishment.
