Jim Harbaugh, Michigan announce litigation with Big Ten resolved, investigation closed
Jim Harbaugh and Michigan no longer have a Friday hearing scheduled to fight the head coach’s 3-game suspension.
In a statement released by the Wolverines, they confirmed that Harbaugh and the B1G resolved the pending litigation. As a result, Harbaugh has accepted the 3-game suspension from the conference and will miss games against Maryland and Ohio State.
Here is the statement:
“This morning, the University, Coach Harbaugh, and the Big Ten resolved their pending litigation. The conference agreed to close its investigation, and the University and Coach Harbaugh agreed to accept the three-game suspension. Coach Harbaugh, with the University’s support, decided to accept this sanction to return the focus to our student-athletes and their performance on the field. The Conference has confirmed that it is not aware of any information suggesting Coach Harbaugh’s involvement in the allegations. The University continues to cooperate fully with the NCAA’s investigation.”
Harbaugh was originally suspended for the rest of the regular season in a Friday announcement from Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti. Michigan had been seeking a temporary restraining order with the goal of getting Harbaugh back on the sidelines as soon as possible.
It is unclear why Michigan and Harbaugh had an about-face after previously appearing adamant about fighting the punishment. Either way, the head coach will now sit out the rest of the regular season but could be back for the B1G Championship Game and beyond if the team continues to win.
