The Michigan football team is going through a rollercoaster of emotions in their offseason.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh flirted with leaving the program after taking interviews with the Broncos and Panthers before announcing he was going to stay at Michigan. Then after that was settled, the NCAA gave notice of allegations against Michigan and Harbaugh.
The allegations include a Level I for Harbaugh for not being forthcoming about a few Level II recruiting allegations via Yahoo. Most thought these allegations would get them a light punishment and go away quickly, but that isn’t the case.
According to sources, Harbaugh has acknowledged his program committed four Level II violations, as the NCAA initially alleged. He has further apologized to the university that they occurred. However, he has refused to sign any document or publicly state that he was ever untruthful with the enforcement staff.
The 59-year-old has maintained he didn’t recall the events when first speaking with investigators but that he was never purposefully dishonest.
The 59-year-old has maintained he didn’t recall the events when first speaking with investigators but that he was never purposefully dishonest.
The NCAA delivered a draft of a notice of allegations earlier this month citing the four Level II violations. They include meeting with two recruits during a COVID-19 dead period, texting a recruit outside of an allowable time period, having analysts perform on-field coaching duties during practice and having coaches watching players work out via Zoom, according to sources.
Punishments are usually minor.
However, the NCAA claims that during the investigation, Harbaugh lied to enforcement staffers about those infractions, which is, itself, a Level I violation. That’s what turned this into a more serious case.
A Level I violation could carry with it a six-game suspension and significant recruiting restrictions, according to NCAA statutes. In the past, coaches have been hit with show cause penalties that make their employment difficult.
Only time will tell what will come from the violations.
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