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There has been talk of the Big Ten issuing a punishment to Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan football program all week, but it has yet to come. The Wolverines are currently being investigated for illegal sign-stealing, and Connor Stalions, the staffer responsible for the scheme, recently resigned from his position. Many coaches and ADs around the Big Ten have been pressuring the conference to issue a punishment to Michigan, and while they haven't shown the Wolverines any evidence of Harbaugh being involved, they might still do it. The whole situation received a big update on Friday morning.
The Big Ten is expected to give Michigan football a response regarding a punishment early on Friday afternoon, according to a report from Heather Dinich on Get Up.
“Sources indicate that the Big Ten will give Michigan a response early this afternoon,” Heather Dinich said. “Michigan leaves at 1 p.m., they’ll fly mid-afternoon… Last night, Michigan sources indicated to me and my colleague that they had not had any communication with the Big Ten and there still has not been evidence presented to Michigan that Jim Harbaugh knew, orchestrated any of this, or lied. The Big Ten, we’ve learned has considered the gamut of punishments. Now, we’re hearing this morning, it could be a three-game suspension, which would be significant and it could start this weekend.”
That would be a very significant punishment as the Wolverines take on #10 Penn State, Maryland and #1 Ohio State in their final three games. Michigan will certainly want their head coach on the sidelines for those contests.
“It’s certainly possible,” Dinich said in regards to Harbaugh missing Michigan's final three regular season games. “My understanding is that the Big Ten isn’t concerned about Michigan’s travel plans. They’ll release news when they deem fit and when they are ready.”
One thing that is important to consider is that this is completely separate from the NCAA, and the Big Ten hasn't actually opened an investigation of their own on the Michigan football program.
“Now, there are two separate things going on here,” Dinich continued. “One, the NCAA is doing its own investigation. My understanding is that the Big Ten has not initiated its own investigation. It’s relying on information it has gathered from the NCAA, in part, and following other reports that have come out.”
If the Big Ten does try to suspend Harbaugh, there is a chance that Michigan can get that ruling blocked, which would allow him to continue coaching. Harbaugh's lawyer, Tom Mars, also noted that he fully expects Harbaugh to be on the team plane on Friday as Michigan is departing to take on Penn State, according to a report from Pete Thamel. It's going to very interesting to see how this plays out. Buckle up.
