By Scott Salomon
The Big 10, late Friday afternoon, suspended Michigan Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh for the final three regular season games, despite the fact that no hearings were conducted and the NCAA did not finish its “ongoing investigation”. The action was taken without any finding of fact. The Big 10 jumped the gun and did not follow the process normally taken in sanction cases where the accused has a chance to defend himself.
Harbaugh was suspended by the Big 10 conference less than 24 hours before the Wolverines play at No. 9 Penn State in what could be their toughest matchup of the season thus far. Michigan (9-0) has a shot to win a third straight Big Ten title and the school’s first national championship since 1997.
This was a classic case of Big 10 Commissioner Tony Petitti yielding to the remainder of the conference’s coaches who have been calling for Harbaugh to be suspended immediately. A conference will typically act more expedient in issuing punishment than the NCAA will, due to the equitable remedies available to them after the coach or university is guaranteed due process of law.
Statement from Michigan AD Warde Manuel: “You may have removed him from our sidelines today, but Jim Harbaugh is our head football coach.” pic.twitter.com/H0qDkf24nH
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) November 11, 2023
Michigan’s plane landed in Pennsylvania shortly before the announcement of the suspension. The university issued a statement condemning the decision. It should also be noted that the Big 10 took their action on a Court Holiday, so normal court was not in session. A duty clerk had to take the case and immediately assign it to Connors.
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As of now, they will have to try to win a conference championship without Harbaugh roaming the sidelines. However, Michigan did file a lawsuit against the Big 10 and is seeking a temporary restraining order to allow Harbaugh to coach until further Order of the Court.
The lawsuit was filed in Washtenaw County Circuit Court and will be heard by Judge Timothy Connors, who — wait for it — just so happens to be a guest lecturer at Michigan and is a Wolverine alumnus.
Judge Connors has since been replaced by a Judge with no ties to the University.
“To ensure fairness in the process, we intend to seek a court order, together with Coach Harbaugh, preventing this disciplinary action from taking effect,” the University said in a release through its Athletic Department.
The restraining order would have prevented the Big 10 from enforcing the order today by suspending Harbaugh and would allow him to coach this afternoon against Penn State, the biggest game of the year thus far, for the undefeated Wolverines.
Injunctions often request that the courts prevent an opposing party, here the Big 10, from taking specific action — suspending Harbaugh without a hearing or Due Process of Law. It is also designed to prohibit the continuing of a current course of action.
It initially appeared as though the Court would have ruled on the TRO Friday morning, but that never it happened.
It appears that an in-person hearing will be held on November 17 at 9 am to determine the merits of the ex-parte motion. The chances of Harbaugh coaching today are non-existent.
Offensive line coach Sherrone Moore will be the acting head coach today in Happy Valley.
This marks the second time that Harbaugh has been suspended this season, which is unprecedented. He will have been suspended for more than half of the regular season if Michigan loses the hearing on Friday.
The hearing on the 17th will have the parties and representatives from Jim Harbaugh, Michigan and the Big Ten. The upcoming hearing is expected to determine whether the judge will grant a preliminary injunction to allow Harbaugh to coach. 2/2
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 11, 2023
This whole Harbaugh problem stems from the allegations that surfaced when an off-field analyst allegedly stole sideline signals from an opponent’s bench in advance of the game that they would play against Michigan. The analyst, who turned out to be Connor Stalions, has been accused by opposing universities of buying tickets to their games, in his name, or that of other family members, for the sole purpose of in-person scouting which violates NCAA rules.
It is not an NCAA violation to intercept or steal signals, according to the NCAA. Schools are just prohibited from doing it in person.
It can be argued that the Big 10 violated Harbaugh’s rights under the by-laws of the Conference, as he was afforded no due process of law, while being denied the liberty to coach and the pursuit of personal happiness.
The Big Ten’s wording here was intentional, & leaves it open for Michigan to seek & get an injunction that could effectively mitigate Harbaugh’s regular-season suspension.
Good news: we’re in for an awkward-as-hell award ceremony if Michigan wins the Big Ten championship. 🤣 https://t.co/3sO6cOgxni
— Alex Byington (@_AlexByington) November 10, 2023
Michigan president Santa Ono previously implored Petitti to wait for “due process” during the NCAA’s probe before acting.
“If you refuse to let the NCAA investigative process play out, the Big 10 may not take any action against the University or its players or coaches without commencing its own investigation and offering us the opportunity to provide our position,” Ono wrote in a letter to Petitti obtained by multiple media outlets. “That is not just required by our conference rules; it is a matter of basic fairness.”
“Like all members of the Big Ten Conference, we are entitled to a fair, deliberate, and thoughtful process to determine the full set of facts before a judgment is rendered,” the school said. “Today’s action by Commissioner Tony Petitti disregards the conference’s own handbook, violates basic tenets of due process, and sets an untenable precedent of assessing penalties before an investigation has been completed.”