Hundreds of UM alums join legal fight to lift Jim Harbaugh's suspension

A group of more than 900 Michigan alums, dating as far back as the late 1950s, are joining the legal fight to get a judge to overturn the Big Ten's suspension of head football coach Jim Harbaugh.

Ryan McCarl, a California-based attorney and 2010 Michigan alum, has filed an amicus brief in Washtenaw County Circuit Court ahead of Friday's hearing, which could determine if Harbaugh will coach Saturday at Maryland and in next week's regular-season finale at home against Ohio State.

Harbaugh sat out last Saturday's game at Penn State, as the first of the three games for which he was suspended by the Big Ten, amid allegations of an elaborate sign-stealing scheme. Lawyers for Harbaugh and the UM Board of Regents attempted to get a temporary restraining order to allow him to coach, but a judge declined to rule.

An amicus brief is typically filed on behalf of a group of people not directly involved in a legal proceeding, but who want to make their voice heard before a ruling is made.

"The Big Ten's midseason suspension of head coach Jim Harbaugh effectively branded the Michigan football program and its leader as having run a cheating scheme even though no evidence supports that conclusion and the NCAA has not completed its investigation," McCarl wrote in the brief. "Casual fans may hear commentators talking about 'sign-stealing,' see that Coach Harbaugh isn't on the sideline, and incorrectly assume that after appropriate processes were followed and a thorough investigation completed, Coach Harbaugh was found to be culpable.

"They are much less likely to know that in the letter announcing Coach Harbaugh's suspension, the Big Ten admitted that it had 'not yet received information indicating that head football coach Harbaugh was aware' of any wrongdoing. With two games remaining in the regular season and Michigan's path to a national championship on the line, interim relief is needed to prevent immeasurable harm not only to Coach Harbaugh and the student-athletes he leads, but to the entire community of people connected to the University of Michigan."

McCarl said in the introduction to his brief that about 1,700 people who earned degrees from Michigan signed on to support the brief; more than 900 of those signatures were verified, with names included at the end of the 46-page filing with 22nd Circuit Court in Washtenaw County.

The Big Ten announced the suspension of Harbaugh last Friday afternoon, as the Michigan football team and Harbaugh were in the air flying to State College, Pa.

In announcing the suspension, which came after first-year Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti held calls with the conference's football coaches and athletic directors and after he met with Michigan president Santa Ono, the conference acknowledged it had no evidence that Harbaugh knew of the scheme. But the conference said as the leader of the football program, he must be held responsible. The Big Ten said it had sufficient evidence of the scheme to act, evidence it said it received from the NCAA, which is also investigating.

Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore was acting head coach for Michigan's 24-15 win at Penn State, which improved the Wolverines to 10-0 on the season.

Michigan is ranked third in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.

"The Big Ten's midseason suspension of Coach Harbaugh threatens to derail Michigan Team 144's undefeated season and pursuit of a Big Ten title and national championship," McCarl wrote in the amicus brief. "But saying so does not begin to describe the effect these actions will have. Millions of people are about these games."

McCarl also argued that carrying out without Harbaugh would put the Michigan football team at a disadvantage, while arguing that the whole ordeal damages the value Michigan degrees "alumni worked hard to attain."

The alleged sign-stealing scheme revolves around low-level staffer Connor Stalions, who is accused of purchasing tickets for a network of associates to attend games of future Big Ten opponents and film the opposing sidelines, reporting back to Stalions so he could decode the signs.

Sign-stealing is not against the rules, but doing so in-person is, according to the NCAA. Michigan has not disputed Stalions' actions in its correspondence with the Big Ten. Stalions has declined to participate in the NCAA's investigation, according to his personnel file, obtained earlier this week by The Detroit News.

Stalions was suspended by Michigan, before resigning earlier this month. He said in a statement through his lawyer that Harbaugh didn't know about any sign-stealing operation, and Harbaugh has maintained his innocence. Harbaugh said earlier this week he will attend Friday's hearing; it's not clear if Petitti will be there.

Lawyers for Harbaugh and the Board of Regents on Friday will seek a preliminary injunction to overturn the Big Ten's decision. To get a preliminary injunction, lawyers must show there will be "irreparable harm" without one. Judge Timothy Connors, a UM Law School lecturer, is scheduled to hear the arguments. He also is the judge who declined to sign off on a temporary restraining order hours before last Saturday's game at Penn State, leaving Harbaugh watching the game on the TV at the team hotel while Moore and the Wolverines carried on without him.

This is the second three-game suspension of the season for Harbaugh, who also missed the first three games as a self-imposed punishment, amid NCAA allegations of a recruiting violation and not being forthcoming with investigators. Moore was acting coach for the third game of that suspension.

"Neither Coach Harbaugh nor the athletes he leads nor the University and alumni they represent deserve to be arbitrarily punished for the benefit of rival schools without the benefit of due process," McCarl wrote.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984