Michigan
NCAA issues suspension and show-cause penalty to Jim Harbaugh for Michigan recruiting violations
Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh has been suspended for a year and given a four-year show-cause penalty by the NCAA for recruiting violations.
The penalties announced Wednesday by the NCAA are not related to the Connor Stalions advance scouting scandal that got Harbaugh suspended by the Big Ten for the end of the 2023 regular season when he was still at Michigan.
Rather, the penalties relate to the three-game suspension Harbaugh served at the start of the season for an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead recruiting period.
The Division I infractions committee determined that Harbaugh “violated recruiting and inducement rules, engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations.” The panel also raised the violation to a “Level I-Aggravated,” citing Harbaugh’s “intentional disregard for NCAA legislation and unethical conduct.”
Michigan won the national championship at the end of the 2023 season after a 15-0 campaign. Harbaugh missed six of the team’s games but returned for the Big Ten title game and the College Football Playoff.
The three-game suspension Harbaugh served at the start of the year was self-imposed by Michigan after negotiations with the NCAA for a four-game suspension fell apart. The NCAA has long accused Harbaugh of being uncooperative in its recruiting investigation and again said that he had denied meeting with two recruits despite proof that he did.
From the NCAA’s decision:
“During the investigation in this case, Harbaugh denied meeting with the two prospects. Initially, he told Michigan and the enforcement staff that he had no recollection of meeting either prospect or their fathers. In a subsequent interview he went further, unequivocally disputing that either meeting happened. Despite his denials, the weight of the factual information—including statements from the prospects, their fathers, and other football staff members, as well as documentation such as receipts and expense reports — demonstrates that Harbaugh was physically present and engaged in these meetings.
“By denying his conduct, which was plainly supported by the record, Harbaugh violated NCAA ethical conduct legislation and thereby amplified the severity of his case.”
The NCAA made clear in its statement that Harbaugh would be banned from all athletic activities at a college for the next four seasons and would serve a complete one-year suspension in the first season. However, it seems unlikely that Harbaugh will coach at the college level in the near future now that he’s returned to the NFL.
And his lack of cooperation with the NCAA reached a new level after the decision was announced, via a statement from his attorney Tom Mars.
“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 said.
“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.”
In its decision, the NCAA outlined that it sent Michigan a notice of allegations regarding the recruiting violations in December of 2023 before Michigan played in the College Football Playoff. Harbaugh left for the Chargers in January, not long after Michigan beat Washington for the national title. Per the NCAA, Harbaugh responded in writing to the notice of allegations in March and said that he had “no intention of appearing at a COI hearing” regarding the accusations.
The infamous cheeseburger
As the investigation into the recruiting violations unfolded, a cheeseburger became the focus and a rallying cry for some Michigan fans. As the negotiations for the four-game suspension broke down in August of 2023, the NCAA said in a statement that the Michigan’s infractions case was “not a cheeseburger” in a direct call to the online burger references.
And its penalty report makes sure to detail the bacon cheeseburger at the center of one of the meetings it says Harbaugh lied about.
The following morning, prospect 2 and his father met the recruiting director and Harbaugh at a local diner. In an interview with the institution and the enforcement staff, prospect 2 stated he and his father had “pretty much a one-on-one breakfast with Coach Harbaugh” where they discussed prospect 2’s future and potentially playing football at Michigan. During the recruiting director’s interview with the institution and enforcement staff, he did not specifically recall prospect 2’s visit, but he did remember being present at a breakfast with Harbaugh and a prospect at the diner during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period. The recruiting director also provided an expense report and a receipt showing he paid for breakfast at the diner on February 28, 2021, and the order included a bacon cheeseburger. This mirrored prospect 2’s and his father’s account of the date and time of the meal and the type of food eaten by Harbaugh. Specifically, prospect 2 recalled that Harbaugh ordered a hamburger for breakfast, which “kind of stood out” to him.
Wednesday’s announcement may not be the only NCAA decision that impacts Michigan football in the coming weeks and months. A report emerged from ESPN over the weekend about a draft notice of allegations relating to Stalions’ scouting scheme. The draft reportedly mentions new Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore and Moore could be directly punished as part of the investigation.