By Austin Meek, Nicole Auerbach, Bruce Feldman, Catherine Briley and Chris Vannini
The Big Ten suspended Jim Harbaugh from games on the sidelines through the end of the regular season as punishment for Michigan’s personal scouting and sign-stealing scandal, the conference announced Friday.
Harbaugh will miss games against Penn State, Maryland and Ohio State. He is allowed to practice at practice and participate in other team activities during the week.
The Big Ten said Michigan violated its athletic policy “by conducting an improper, in-person scouting operation over several years that resulted in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of the competition.”
Michigan said Friday it planned to seek a court order to keep Harbaugh from the sidelines. The university filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in Washtenaw County, Michigan. If approved, Harbaugh could continue to coach.
In a letter to Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti wrote that Harbaugh was suspended because he “personifies the university with respect to its football program.” However, the conference received no evidence that Harbaugh “was aware of the improper nature of the sign-stealing scheme,” Petitti said, adding that the punishment was “targeted at the university” and not the coach himself.
The suspension came after a tense week of deliberations between Michigan and the Big Ten.
Michigan’s 10-page response argued against premature action by the Big Ten before the conclusion of an NCAA investigation and claimed that the Big Ten did not have the authority to suspend Harbaugh over the actions of employee Connor Stalions, who resigned last week.
Petitti said in his Friday letter that in its protests, Michigan “did not deny that the improper operation occurred” but instead “only cited procedural and technical arguments designed to delay accountability.”
The school said Petitti’s decision “disregards the conference handbook, violates basic principles of due process and sets an untenable precedent for assessing penalties before an investigation is complete.”
The university added that it is “dismayed by the commissioner’s haste to make a judgment when there is an ongoing NCAA investigation – one with which it is cooperating fully” and said Petitti was “responding to pressure” from others Conference members.
The NCAA said Friday that its “investigative and violation processes” surrounding Michigan are continuing.
Big Ten policy gives its commissioner the authority to punish violations of athletic principles. However, anything beyond a two-game suspension or $10,000 fine requires approval from the league’s Joint Group Executive Committee. In his letter Friday, Petitti said he received approval from the committee to impose stricter discipline on Michigan.
The first step in Michigan’s litigation was filing the motion for a preliminary injunction, said Mit Winter, an attorney specializing in sports law at Kennyhertz Perry.
“It’s never easy to get a TRO,” Winter said, noting that Michigan could have a “home field advantage” over the Big Ten if the request were filed before a Michigan judge. “Many courts will say this is an exceptional remedy. You must demonstrate that you have a chance of success based on the merits of your underlying claims.”
The NCAA is not expected to complete its investigation into Michigan’s alleged personal scouting before the end of the season, although it is working at an accelerated pace. That’s why coaches and administrators around the Big Ten had urged Petitti to move more quickly against Michigan, based on evidence that Stalions had purchased tickets to games involving Michigan opponents and had obtained video footage of signals from opposing teams.
Stallions resigned Nov. 3, two weeks after Michigan suspended him with pay. In a statement to The Athletic, Stalions’ attorney, Brad Beckworth, said Stalions had no knowledge that other employees had violated NCAA rules prohibiting in-person scouting.
Michigan is 9-0 and sits at No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings. Harbaugh served a school-imposed three-game suspension earlier in the season related to a separate NCAA investigation involving alleged recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period.
What to make of this move by the Big Ten?
Portraying Harbaugh’s suspension as a sanction for the University of Michigan football program rather than a punishment of Harbaugh himself is a smart move by the conference to pre-empt possible legal attacks.
If the Big Ten were to punish Harbaugh, then Harbaugh’s culpability in the Stallions’ scheme (who, interestingly, is not mentioned by name in the letter) could be presented as a material fact that is in dispute, something that would require a fact-finding decision Finders in court (and thus slow down the process).
Instead, the conference relies on evidence from a variety of sources. Some come from the NCAA and other Big Ten universities. Some come from publicly available materials such as images, videos, and Venmo receipts. The Big Ten even cited Greg Sankey, the SEC commissioner, for confirming that Stalions had purchased tickets to the conference championship game.
The Big Ten traces many of these elements to a so-called “master table” that lists the various games, tickets and participants to which Staions has granted access, and notes that these elements corroborate one another. Pettiti claims in the letter that the wealth of information led him to the conclusion that the existence of the plan was “undisputed.” Furthermore, the letter confirms that Michigan was aware of parts of this evidence.
In other words, the conference appears to be trying to establish a solid factual base and address as many questions as possible – including the question of Harbaugh’s knowledge – in preparation for an impending slog of motion practice. — Catherine Briley, college football editor
What are the possible next steps?
Michigan has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in Michigan state court, specifically the 22nd District Court in Washtenaw County. Appointed Judge, Hon. Timothy P. Connors has been a Michigan State Court Judge since 1991 and a 22nd Judicial District Judge since 1997, being re-elected five times.
Assuming the TRO is granted, the maximum duration of such injunction is 14 days from the date of issuance, absent special circumstances. This would mean that if a TRO is issued before the Michigan-Penn State matchup, the TRO would end on either November 24th or 25th. In other words, even if emergency relief is granted, Harbaugh could still be unavailable for a matchup with Penn State and Ohio State. – Briley
What are Michigan and Harbaugh arguing about?
For Michigan and Jim Harbaugh to win the injunction, they must show that immediate and irreparable harm will result if the court does not essentially hit the pause button on the Big Ten’s proposed punishment.
Arguing that the university has suffered irreparable harm, the lawyers point out not only that the student-athletes on the Michigan football team would be affected, but also that Michigan “prides itself on fairness and integrity” and that the athletics of the If the university cannot claim injunctive relief, programs will significantly damage their reputation.
Likewise, the brief argues that “no more dramatic blow could be delivered.” [Coach Jim Harbaugh’s] “Character and reputation, marked for life as ‘missing in action’ due to an alleged – but still unsubstantiated – cheating scandal.”
Finally, the brief also states that an injunction against the Big Ten is in the public interest because Michigan is a national title contender and “fans have a vested interest in seeing the team most deserving of the title.” , wins the title.” – Briley
Does it matter that the judge is a Michigan graduate?
The assigned judge, Connors, is a 1977 Michigan graduate who claims to have played for the football team. He is also a lecturer at the UM Law School. This information could anger any fan of conspiracy theorists. However, it is worth noting that the TRO application was filed in the Washtenaw County Business Court and Connors is the only assigned business judge in the county. He received his law degree from Wayne State University, where he also serves as an adjunct professor, a position he also held at Vermont Law School. Due to the emergency nature of the situation, another judge might be appointed, but that is not clear.
In general, some attorneys believe that schools have a home court advantage when they file in their own backyard, and in the recent past, schools have sided with schools when they compete against their conference in court. In early 2022, Marshall, Southern Miss and Old Dominion received TROs in local courts against Conference USA over their attempts to leave the league for the Sun Belt. They succeeded. In September, Oregon State and Washington State received a TRO in WSU’s backyard against the Pac-12 to stop board meetings without court approval. — Chris Vannini, senior CFB writer
Required reading
(Photo: Matt Krohn / USA Today)