Michigan fans react to Jim Harbaugh's NCAA suspension

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ — On the streets of Ann Arbor, reaction is mostly what you’d expect as fans learn the NCAA came down hard on former Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh, banning him from coaching on a college football sideline for the next four years.

“I think the NCAA has it out for Jim Harbaugh a little bit,” Tom Pokorney of Ann Arbor said.

“I thought it was honestly stupid,” Fisher Johnson said. “He’s gone from the NCAA.”

Harbaugh left Michigan after last season for a job with the LA Chargers in the NFL, but the punishment comes from recruiting violations, which according to the NCAA, turned into a Level 1-Aggravated violation during the investigation because of Harbaugh’s “unethical conduct and failure to cooperate.”

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Steve Culp is an assistant coach at the high school level, who has also coached players being recruited in the past.

“The head coach has to know every rule. The head coach is responsible for everything in the program,” said Culp, who also acknowledged the rules can change and be complicated. “The rules change more than I can keep count. You would have to study it. For a parent or prospective student athlete, you would have to dive into the rules.”

Harbaugh’s violations stem from the COVID-19 dead period, but the punishment comes down on the cusp of a national title.

“I don’t think it’s going to get revoked, but it does put a pretty big stain on it,” Johnson said. “They did play good football. That’s all that matters to me.”

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How Michigan students feel about that depends on perspective.

“They won last year because of the recruiting violations? OK, OK,” graduate student Jocelyn May said poking fun at Michigan. “Yeah, I went to Ohio State undergrad.”

“I’m sure what’s coming to them will eventually come. I think we’re all sitting here waiting for the final hammer to fall or not fall,” said Culp, who’s also an MSU alum and Spartan fan. “But I try to just worry about Michigan State and our kids and how we’re doing.”

While Harbaugh’s suspension lasts through 2028, he’s under contract with the Chargers also until 2028.