Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh hit with show cause, suspension; attorney Tom Mars scorches NCAA with statement
Former Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh (2015-23) is no longer in college football, having moved on to the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. But if he does indeed return to the college game in the near future, he’ll be facing punishments from the NCAA for his involvement in minor, Level II violations during the COVID-19 dead period and his apparent “lack of cooperation” with the investigation, with the latter drawing him an even more serious, Level I charge.
The NCAA announced Wednesday that a Division I Committee on Infractions panel determined the former Michigan coach “violated recruiting and inducement rules, engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations, resulting in a four-year show-cause order.”
Harbaugh was hit with a Level I (most serious) violation for his “unethical conduct and failure to cooperate with the membership’s infractions process — specifically, his provision of false or misleading information.”
The show cause order begins Aug. 7, 2024 and runs through Aug. 6, 2028. If he’s hired by an NCAA institution while the show cause is in effect, he would be suspended for the entirety of the first season of employment. During the show-cause order, Harbaugh would be “barred from athletics-related activities, including team travel, practice, video study and recruiting and team meetings until the order expires.”
“Michigan and five individuals who currently or previously worked for its football program earlier reached agreement with NCAA enforcement staff on violations concerning recruiting and coaching activities by noncoaching staff members that occurred within the football program,” the NCAA announcement read. “The school also agreed that it failed to monitor the football program. The committee issued a statement on April 16 confirming resolution of the case for the school and the participating individuals. The committee’s bifurcation of the case permitted those parties to immediately begin serving their penalties while awaiting the committee’s final decision on the remaining contested portion of the case.”
Harbaugh was not part of the agreement, and the NCAA resolved his case separately.
“Head coaches are presumed responsible for violations that occur within their programs,” the NCAA statement said. “Due to Harbaugh’s personal involvement in the violations and his failure to monitor his staff, he could not rebut the presumption, resulting in a violation of head coach responsibility rules.
“The panel noted that Harbaugh’s intentional disregard for NCAA legislation and unethical conduct amplified the severity of the case and prompted the panel to classify Harbaugh’s case as Level I-Aggravated, with penalties to include a four-year show-cause order. Subsumed in the show-cause order is a one-season suspension for Harbaugh.”
Top 10
- 1Trending
Connor Stalions
Ex-Michigan staffer coaching top QB target
- 2
UGA celebrates loss?
Georgia DB caught celebrating with Ole Miss fans on field
- 3Hot
FSU cleans house
Seminoles fire both coordinators, WR coach
- 4
Paul Finebaum
Florida AD under fire for Napier announcement
- 5
AP Poll Shakeup
Top 25 sees huge changes
Harbaugh reportedly signed a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Chargers. He left the Wolverines after winning the national championship in 2023.
Harbaugh’s attorney, Tom Mars, a thorn in the side of the NCAA, released a scorching statement following the NCAA’s announcement of Harbaugh’s punishments.
“The way I see it, from Coach Harbaugh’s perspective, today’s COI decision is like being in college and getting a letter from your high school saying you’ve been suspended because you didn’t sign the yearbook,” Mars wrote.
“If I were in Coach Harbaugh’s shoes and had an $80 million contract as head coach of the Chargers, I wouldn’t pay any attention to the findings of a kangaroo court, which claims to represent the principles of the nation’s most flagrant, repeat violator of the federal antitrust laws.”
