Michigan names new acting head coach in lieu of Juwan Howard suspension

Associate Head Coach and former St. Joe’s head coach Phil Martelli will serve as Michigan’s acting head coach during Juwan Howard’s five-game suspension, a school spokesman confirmed, per Jon Rothstein on Twitter.

During his time coaching St. Joe’s, he led the Hawks to seven NCAA Tournaments and six NIT appearances in 24 seasons as head coach. Martelli is also a former AP and Naismith Coach of the Year in 2004 and is the winningest coach in St. Joe’s history.

The Big Ten has fined Michigan’s Howard $40,000 in addition to a 5-game suspension, per the release. Terrance Williams and Moussa Diabate will also be suspended for Michigan’s game against Rutgers on Wednesday. On the other side of the table, Wisconsin’s Jahcobi Neath has been suspended one game, while Greg Gard has been fined $10,000 and will receive no suspension.

Juwan Howard releases statement after suspension, apologizes for incident

The Big Ten announced Michigan Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard would be suspended for five games following his actions after the game against Wisconsin. On top of miss the rest of the regular season, Howard will be fined $40,000.

Howard released a statement shortly after the announcement of his suspension. He apologized to everyone involved with the Michigan program along with Wisconsin assistant coach Joel Krabbenhoft — who was on the receiving end of Howard’s punch.

“After taking time to reflect on all that happened, I realize how unacceptable both my actions and words were, and how they truly affected so many. I am truly sorry.

“I am offering my sincerest apologies to my players and their families, my staff, my family and the Michigan fans around the world. I would like to personally apologize to Wisconsin’s Assistant Coach Joel Krabbenhoft and his family, too.

“Lastly, I speak a lot about being a Michigan man and representing the University of Michigan with class and pride, I did not do that, nor did I set the right example in the right way for my student-athletes. I will learn from my mistake and this mistake will never happen again. No excuses!”

Michigan athletic director Ward Manuel also released a statement following Howard. He said there is “no room” for those kind of actions at the University of Michigan and everyone involved will learn from the incident.

“Today’s disciplinary actions underscore the seriousness with which we take the incident that unfolded on Sunday. Simply put, there is no room at U-M for the behavior we saw. We will learn from this incident as a department, work to improve ourselves while operating under a spotlight, and move forward in a positive light.”