EXCLUSIVE: Michigan President Santa Ono's strong, written message to Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti

Michigan met with the Big Ten Friday to discuss a potential response to the conference’s threat of action against the U-M football team and head coach Jim Harbaugh. U-M is in the middle of an NCAA investigation involving alleged, illegal on-site scouting, but Ono made it clear in an e-mail to Petitti the day before the meeting where he stood.

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Ono’s e-mail to Petitti:

Dear Tony,

“I look forward to our meeting and am writing now to share some of my deeply held beliefs, which I hope can inform our conversation and guide what we do next. 

“None of us wants to be in this situation. The University of Michigan takes its compliance obligations seriously. We are committed to ethics, integrity, and fair play.  It is at our core and always will be.  And that is why I am so deeply concerned about the allegations.    
 
“We are fully cooperating with the NCAA in its investigation, as it seeks to separate the facts from irresponsible speculation seen in much of the public and social media discourse.
 
“It’s precisely at these times — when all key facts are not known but others are all too comfortable offering strongly held opinion — that it is essential for everyone to ensure that investigations are conducted fairly and that conclusions are based on what actually happened.  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.
 
“We, as would any other member of the Big 10, deserve nothing less.  Our students, our coaches, our program — all are entitled to a fair, deliberate, thoughtful process. We are aware that other representatives of the Big10 are demanding that you take action now, before any meaningful investigation and full consideration of all the evidence.  That is not something our conference rules permit.  And we both know it is not what any other member would want if allegations were raised against their people or programs.  
 
“The Big 10 has not informed us of any investigation of its own, as would be required under conference rules.  And, to be clear, oral updates from NCAA enforcement staff do not and cannot constitute evidence, nor do we think the NCAA would ever intend for an oral update to be given that meaning or weight.   
  
“The best course of action, the one far more likely to ascertain the facts, is to await the results of the NCAA investigation.  But if you refuse to let the NCAA investigative process play out, the Big 10 may not take any action against the University or its players or coaches without commencing its own investigation and offering us the opportunity to provide our position.  That is not just required by our conference rules; it is a matter of basic fairness. “

Sincerely,

Santa J. Ono
President
University of Michigan

Despite some new evidence produced, according to sources, and “strong threats of action” from Petitti and others, the Big Ten left without acting, and Ono insisted again they would not self-impose punishment on Harbaugh. He and his colleagues remain steadfast in their desire to let the investigation play out.

Our sources tell us there was no indication the Big Ten was prepared to accept a 2-game suspension, as some reported (too “light” a punishment), and they at least threatened significant action if Michigan didn’t enforce any. They seemed more interested in a Harbaugh suspension, not anything keeping the team from competing this year. 

Some expect the Big Ten to act as soon as Monday on a potential Harbaugh suspension. Harbaugh could fight with an injunction, if necessary, to keep coaching, and some believe that would be the course of action.

Stay with TheWolverine.com for more on this story in the hours and days to come …