Coach Jim Harbaugh may face disciplinary action from the Big Ten for the Michigan Wolverines’ alleged sign-stealing.
Pete Thamel of ESPN was the first to report that the league intended to ban Harbaugh from the Michigan sidelines for the remainder of the regular season. Harbaugh will not be permitted to watch the games personally, but he is still permitted to coach the team throughout the week.
The conference cited “conducting an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition” as a violation of the league’s sportsmanship code in a statement.
On Saturday afternoon, Penn State hosts the Wolverines. Since the Wolverines have a trip to Maryland before finishing the season at home against Ohio State, Harbaugh’s ban is essentially for three games. The two greatest games of Michigan’s season are without a doubt the ones versus Penn State and Ohio State.
The Big Ten has been under increasing pressure from its other members to take action, and that pressure led to the decision to punish Harbaugh over the sign-stealing claims, even though the NCAA is still in the early stages of its investigation. The school responds that no information has surfaced that directly connects Harbaugh to any misconduct and is ready to challenge any suspension in court.
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