NCAA penalizes Jim Harbaugh for Michigan recruiting violations: What does it mean?

Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh received a four-year show-cause order, including a one-season suspension, from the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions on Wednesday in connection with violations of the COVID-19 dead period in 2021.

The COI ruled that Harbaugh “violated recruiting and inducement rules, engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations” in the recruiting infractions case, one of two NCAA cases involving Harbaugh and Michigan. The NCAA has yet to assess penalties in the case involving former staffer Connor Stalions and his alleged scheme to collect video footage of opponents’ signals.

The penalties for Harbaugh represent the final resolution in the NCAA’s investigation of Michigan for hosting recruits on campus during the COVID-19 dead period. They’re essentially a formality, as Harbaugh left Michigan in January to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.

“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,” Harbaugh’s attorney, Tom Mars, wrote on X.

In its decision, the COI wrote that Harbaugh met a prospect and his father for breakfast at a local diner in February 2021 and provided them with access to Michigan’s football facility. Harbaugh met with another prospect and his father at the same diner the following month. Those meetings constituted a violation of the COVID-19 dead period, which barred coaches from having in-person contact with recruits.

Harbaugh initially denied having any memory of the meetings and later went further, “unequivocally denying that either meeting happened,” according to the COI. The NCAA gathered evidence, including receipts, expense reports and statements from the prospects and other staff members, that showed Harbaugh was “physically present and engaged” in the meetings.

Harbaugh’s underlying actions constituted a Level II violation, the NCAA found, but he received a more serious Level I infraction for providing false or misleading information to NCAA investigators.

If Harbaugh were to return to college football during the four-year show cause, he would be “barred from all athletically related activities, including team travel, practice, video study, recruiting and team meetings, at any NCAA school that employed him,” according to the NCAA. He would also be suspended for 100 percent of his first full season of employment.

Michigan was placed on three years of NCAA probation and received recruiting restrictions in connection with the violations of the COVID-19 dead period. As part of a negotiated resolution to settle Michigan’s portion of that case, the school acknowledged in April that Harbaugh did not meet his responsibilities as head coach.

Harbaugh left Michigan for the NFL in January after leading the Wolverines to a 15-0 season and their first national championship since 1997. He served two suspensions during the 2023 season: a three-game school-imposed suspension to start the season for his role in the COVID-19 recruiting violations and a three-game suspension at the end of the regular season imposed by the Big Ten in connection with the in-person scouting allegations.

The NCAA sent a draft notice of allegations to Michigan on Sunday outlining potential charges in that case, including a Level I charge for Harbaugh and a Level II charge for new head coach Sherrone Moore for allegedly deleting text messages with Stalions.

“Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal. I was raised with that lesson,” Harbaugh said earlier this week when asked about the allegations in the Stalions case. “I have raised my family on that lesson. I have preached that lesson to the teams that I’ve coached. No one’s perfect. If you stumble, you apologize and you make it right.

“Today, I do not apologize. I did not participate, was not aware, nor complicit in those said allegations. So for me, it’s back to work and attacking with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”