The four-game suspension that was reportedly close to being agreed upon between Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and the NCAA will not come to pass this year. Despite things seemingly coming close to an ending chapter because of alleged recruiting violations and the lying of certain aspects of them by Harbaugh, the NCAA Committee on Infractions rejected the proposal.
Dan Wetzel of Yahoo sports was the first to report the news.
So, instead of Harbaugh missing the first four games of the 2023 season against the easiest part of the schedule, he will most likely coach all of Michigan’s games this fall until a hearing on the matter can be conducted at the conclusion of the season.
Derrick Crawford, the Vice President of the NCAA’s hearing operations, provided a statement on where things stand and said that it is not uncommon for these types of things to not be approved.
NCAA statement on the Harbaugh situation, which includes this: “not a cheeseburger.” pic.twitter.com/0sH3gpkecc
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 12, 2023
Of interest, and somewhat comical, is the statement that this is “not a cheeseburger,” as most Michigan fans and notables have tried to make the whole situation falsely about Harbaugh buying cheeseburgers for recruits. It’s also important to note that the what Harbaugh is being accused of — meeting with recruits during the dead period of COVID-19 — wouldn’t have resulted in more than a slap on the wrist, but because he allegedly lied to investigators, the penalties will most likely be more severe.
We’ll stay on top of this, but for now, we’ll file it away and see if punting this down the road leads to Harbaugh flirting win the NFL once again this offseason. It remains to be seen if he will even have to serve s suspension.
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