Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and the NCAA were working toward a negotiated resolution regarding violations alleging Harbaugh misled NCAA investigators, but multiple national reports on Saturday indicate that has been derailed.
What this means is the case involving Michigan and Harbaugh, who faces a Level I allegation by the NCAA that he lied and misled investigators who were looking into Level II violations during the COVID recruiting dead period in 2021, is now headed to a hearing before the Committee on Infractions.
The negotiated resolution was thought to involve a potential four-game suspension, involving game days only, for Harbaugh. While reports in Yahoo and Sports Illustrated on Saturday indicated Harbaugh is expected to coach every game this fall, there remains a possibility Michigan could self-impose penalties, including a four-game suspension.
People are also reading…
Michigan is expected to soon receive a Notice of Allegations (NOA) from the NCAA. The NOA outlines the rules Michigan and Harbaugh are alleged to have broken and describes the facts of the case.
“We are unable to comment as this is still an ongoing case,” Michigan football spokesman Dave Ablauf said Saturday.
Harbaugh has not been able to discuss the allegations, as he pointed out last month at Big Ten media days, after news of the negotiated resolution broke.
“As you probably already know, I'm not allowed to talk about any aspect of that ongoing situation,” Harbaugh said at Big Ten media days. “I'm with you, I would love to lay it all out there. Nothing to be ashamed of. But now is not that time. That's about all there is to say about that.”
Lawyer Tom Mars, Harbaugh's attorney, would not confirm the reports when reached Saturday.
"Considering that the NCAA enforcement process is supposed to be highly confidential, it seems odds that sportswriters are once again reporting on developments in this case as though they're a matter of public record," Mars told The Detroit News. "I'm not going to confirm or comment on anything other than to express my frustration with this process. That's all I have to say."
The enforcement staff of the NCAA sent Michigan a draft of an NOA on Jan. 5. The NCAA alleges Harbaugh was dishonest about the recruiting violations when he first met with investigators. Harbaugh has refused to admit that he lied to NCAA staff. The NCAA considers lying to investigators a Level I violation, considered the most serious and often carries the potential for a six-game suspension and recruiting restrictions.
Once Michigan and Harbaugh receive the NOA, they will have up to 90 days to respond in writing. Extensions can be provided. According to the NCAA, when everyone is in agreement, a hearing is set before the Committee on Infractions.
Stu Brown, an Atlanta-based attorney who represents schools with NCAA cases, shed some light on the process to The Detroit News in April. After the initial 90 days, the NCAA enforcement staff has up to 60 days to file a reply. A hearing is scheduled, typically, he said, about two months after the reply has been filed. After the hearing, it’s another two or three months before the public infractions report is released. There could be an appeal, which could last six months or more.
“You could reasonably be looking at the spring of 2024,” Brown said of a resolution in Harbaugh’s Level I case.
Three other coaches also could be sanctioned, including former defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, now the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, as well as offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore and tight ends coach Grant Newsome.