UM football faces probation, restrictions after NCAA agreement over violations

The Michigan football program faces three years of probation, a fine and recruiting restrictions, and five current and former coaches have agreed to one-year show-cause orders stemming from an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations.

The negotiated agreement was announced Tuesday by the NCAA.

According to the NCAA, one former coach did not participate in the agreement, and that case will be "considered separately by the Committee on Infractions, after which the committee will release its full decision."

Michigan received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA on Dec. 18, 2023 and had 90 days to respond, which it did on March 18. Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, now the head coach of the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers, and his lawyer, Tom Mars, filed a separate response, also on that date.

"Coach Harbaugh filed a lengthy response to the NOA, which unfortunately has not been made public," Mars told The Detroit News on Tuesday. "I see that Michigan changed its position to get this resolved, which is not surprising. I can almost hear the wheels of the bus going 'whomp, whomp.'"

Mars said he and Harbaugh were not informed that the NCAA and Michigan were in discussions and that an agreement had been reached.

The Detroit News has filed open-records requests with the University of Michigan for the NOA and Michigan’s NOA response, but those have not yet been fulfilled. The News also requested Harbaugh's response.

"Michigan has every right to make its response and Coach Harbaugh's response to the NOA public, and most universities do so on their website," Mars said when asked about obtaining Harbaugh's response. "We wouldn't object to Michigan doing so and would encourage Michigan to be fully transparent."

There are potential violations and penalties for Harbaugh, according to the NCAA, which said it will not discuss the details of the case because its final decision is pending.

Michigan was given a draft of the NOA in January 2023. Michigan has said it agreed to the Level II violations that included impermissible in-person recruiting during a COVID-19 recruiting dead period in 2021, texting a recruit outside the allowable time period and having analysts handling on-field coaching and coaches watching players work out via Zoom, but Harbaugh has never agreed to the Level I — the NCAA’s most severe — allegation of lying to and misleading investigators.

Harbaugh served a school-imposed three-game suspension at the start of the 2023 season after a reported four-game suspension as part of a negotiated resolution with the NCAA fell through. First-year Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, who was offensive coordinator/offensive line coach last season, was suspended the first game last season after reaching a negotiated resolution with the NCAA. Michigan football also wasn't permitted to host recruit at Michigan Stadium the first two games.

“Today’s joint resolution pertains to the University of Michigan Athletic Department and several former and current employees,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement. “We are pleased to reach a resolution on this matter so that our student-athletes and our football program can move forward. We have no additional information and cannot comment further on other aspects of the NCAA’s inquiries.”

Michigan football also is the subject of a second ongoing NCAA investigation involving an alleged illegal scouting/sign-stealing scheme that was confirmed Oct. 19, 2023 by the Big Ten. Former low-level football staffer Connor Stalions, who allegedly orchestrated the scheme, resigned from the staff after initially being suspended with pay. Harbaugh has said he had no knowledge of any illegal scouting by Michigan. Harbaught was suspended the final three games of the regular season by Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti for a violation of the league's Sportsmanship Policy.

The NCAA, in its release Tuesday regarding the negotiated resolution which will keep Michigan from having to go before a Committee on Infractions hearing, said Harbaugh did not cooperate with the investigation.

“The negotiated resolution also involved the school's agreement that the underlying violations demonstrated a head coach responsibility violation and the former football head coach failed to meet his responsibility to cooperate with the investigation,” the NCAA said in the statement. “The school also agreed that it failed to deter and detect the impermissible recruiting contacts and did not ensure that the football program adhered to rules for noncoaching staff members."

According to the NCAA, the individuals who agreed to one-year show-cause orders agreed to "Level II-Standard and Level II-mitigated classifications" for the respective violations. A show-cause penalty stays in effect for the specified period of time and can be transferred to any other program that hires the coach while the sanctions are still in effect. 

Harbaugh led Michigan to the 2023 national championship.

achengelis@detroitnews.com

@chengelis