Jim Harbaugh suspension deal with NCAA falls through, expected to drag into 2024
Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh is not expected to be suspended during the 2023 season after talks with the NCAA fell through on a potential resolution. The Wolverine’s Chris Balas reported rumblings on Saturday morning of a snag in the NCAA deal with more information coming to light later on the afternoon courtesy of Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions rejected the negotiated settlement, which would have included a four-game suspension to start the year. Now, the case is expected to go to a full hearing that would likely take place sometime in 2024. Harbaugh is now expected to coach the entirety of the 2023 season.
Harbaugh, who has been accused of a handful of recruiting violations, has been steadfast in denying any wrongdoing to the NCAA, which has been a sticking point in the resolution of this issue that goes back months. Some of the violations included Zoom contact with recruits during the pandemic, an impromptu visit to the Brown Jug for burgers and allowing an analyst to perform on-field coaching duties. None are considered major offenses by the NCAA.
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Harbaugh’s lack of cooperation with the NCAA is considered a Grade I violation and would result in most cases in a 6-game suspension. For months, the two sides have been working on a deal to move on from the situation. Sources told The Wolverine’s Chris Balas that the penalty could have been reduced significantly had Harbaugh admitted to wrongdoing, but it has not come to pass.
Wetzel said the following in a report put out on Saturday afternoon:
“An agreement between the NCAA and Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh concerning penalties stemming from what the NCAA deemed to be false statements Harbaugh made to investigators has broken down, an industry source told Yahoo Sports.
Harbaugh and the NCAA had come to a tentative resolution that would see the coach serve a four-game suspension to begin the 2023 season. A number of former assistants were also sanctioned.
The deal still needed approval from the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions. Many believed that would be a formality.
However, hurdles arose and the deal is now off, sources said.
“As you probably already know, I’m not allowed to talk about any specifics to that ongoing situation,” Harbaugh said at Big Ten Football Media Days. “I’d love to lay it all out there … nothing to be ashamed of. But now is not that time. That’s about all there is to say about that.”
This story is developing.
