Big Ten suspends Jim Harbaugh from Michigan sideline for remainder of 2023 regular season

Update 4:29 p.m. Michigan responds. and says they will seek a court order to keep Harbaugh on the sidelines this weekend in Happy Valley.

Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh will be suspended from the sideline for the rest of the Big Ten regular season. Pete Thamel of ESPN broke the story first.

The Big Ten Conference announced today that the University of Michigan has been found in violation of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy for conducting an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition.

Big Ten Conference Agreement 10.01 states in part that “The Big Ten Conference expects all contests involving a member institution to be conducted without compromise to any fundamental element of sportsmanship. Such fundamental elements include integrity of the competition, civility toward all, and respect, particularly toward opponents and officials.”

As a penalty imposed on the institution, the University football team must compete without its Head Football Coach for the games remaining in the 2023 regular-season, effective immediately. This disciplinary action shall not preclude the University or its football team from having its Head Football Coach attend practices or other football team activities other than the game activities to which it applies. For clarity, the Head Football Coach shall not be present at the game venue on the dates of the games to which this disciplinary action applies.

This disciplinary action comes following weeks of pressure on league commissioner Tony Pettiiti to punish Harbaugh and Michigan for the ongoing sign-stealing investigation. The Wolverines are currently en route to State College, PA, for Saturday’s showdown at Penn State.

Michigan has been under a media microscope for the past month since news dropped that they were being investigated by the NCAA for rules violations pertaining to in-person scouting of opponents and sign stealing. With NCAA investigations normally operating at a glacial pace, there has been increased pressure by rival Big Ten institutions for the conference to punish the Wolverine head coach before the end of the regular season. Earlier this week, both the school and Harbaugh’s attorney Tom Mars sent the conference a letter arguing that Commissioner Pettiti doesn’t have the authority to punish Harbaugh at this moment.

Some of the bigger allegations against Penn State are documented in the addendums to the release, which basically serves as a finding of fact sent to UM athletic director Warde Manuel. The league also states that additional punishment might be forthcoming.

The list of evidence already compiled is rather damming, and is in the view of Pettiti enough to warrant immediate sanctions even before any other processes complete their investigation. It includes a “master spreadsheet” which “included a very large amount of detailed information regarding the impermissible scheme.”

This included “a large and detailed chart listing the names of various individuals assigned to attend past and future football games involving the University’s scheduled football similar in-person attendance assignments for past and future games.”

Following Saturday’s game against Penn State, Michigan will have a road matchup against Ohio State before closing the regular season with their annual showdown against archrival Ohio State.

Right now Michigan remains a 4-point favorite over Penn State on Saturday, down from 4.5 earlier today at DraftKings Sportsbook.