Michigan football sign stealing timeline: What's next after Jim Harbaugh suspension
A major breakthrough has arrived in the ongoing Michigan football sign stealing probe after the Big Ten Conference announced it has suspended Wolverines head football coach Jim Harbaugh for the final three games of the 2023 college football season. Now in response, the school says it's going to fight that decision.
Not long after the Big Ten announced that it believes Michigan violated the league's sportsmanship policy, the school quickly went public with a statement of its own, saying it will seek a "court order" to hinder the ruling and keep Harbaugh on the sideline.
Michigan's response
"Like all members of the Big Ten Conference, we are entitled to a fair, deliberate, and thoughtful process to determine the full set of facts before a judgement is rendered," Michigan said in its statement.
"Today's action by Commissioner Tony Petitti disregards the Conference's own handbook, violates basic tenets of due process, and sets an untenable precedent of assessing penalties before an investigation has been completed. We are dismayed at the Commissioner's rush to judgment when there is an ongoing NCAA investigation -- one in which we are fully cooperating.
"Commissioner Petitti's hasty action today suggests that this is more about reacting to pressure from other Conference members than a desire to apply the rules fairly and impartially. By taking this action at this hour, the Commissioner is personally inserting himself onto the sidelines and altering the level playing field that he is claiming to preserve.
"And, doing so on Veteran's Day -- a court holiday -- to try to thwart the University from seeking immediate judicial relief is hardly a profile in impartiality. To ensure fairness in the process, we intend to seek a court order, together with Coach Harbaugh, preventing this disciplinary action from taking effect."
What games Harbaugh will miss
If the suspension is served, Harbaugh will not be on the sideline for the final three games of the regular season, including
- Nov. 11 at Penn State
- Nov. 18 at Maryland
- Nov. 25 vs. Ohio State
- Big Ten Championship is up in the air
It is not known if the suspension would carry over to the Big Ten title game if the Wolverines were to win the East Division and qualify.
Michigan sign stealing allegations timeline
Oct 25: Michigan comes under NCAA investigation for allegedly scouting future opponents in person, or in common parlance, stealing football signals. Two opponents told Yahoo that they were aware the Wolverines knew their signals. Football assistant Connor Stalions was ID'd as the person of interest.
Oct 25: Head coach Jim Harbaugh denies knowledge of any sign stealing, but said he would cooperate with the NCAA investigation.
Oct 25: ESPN reports that Stalions bought tickets to games at various Big Ten schools and four games at non-conference playoff contenders over three years, including a game at Tennessee when it was a potential CFP team last season.
Oct 25: Washington Post reports that the investigation began when an outside investigative firm came to the NCAA with files and videos on computer drives that were maintained by Michigan, and claims that multiple football coaches and staff members had access to the files.
Oct 26: Big Ten enters the investigation as the commissioner's office says it has the jurisdiction to look into the claims for violating the league's sportsmanship policy.
Oct 26: NCAA enforcement personnel arrive on Michigan's campus to investigate the matter in person.
Oct 27: An anonymous former Division III football coach claims that Stalions paid him to record future Michigan opponents in person, a violation.
Oct. 29: Reports emerge that NFL teams would be unlikely to hire Harbaugh, who has frequently entertained interest at the professional level, as a potential head coach amid the allegations, as they would want him to serve "some or all" of a possible NCAA suspension first, according to NFL Media.
Oct 30: Harbaugh speaks on the allegations, saying: "You just have to let it play out. Cooperate with the investigation and see how it plays out. Too much of a one-track mind with the team to engage with all the speculation."
Oct 31: Central Michigan investigates allegations that Stalions attended one of its games wearing CMU apparel. Pictures circulate online that show a man who resembles Stalions at the game in a Chippewas hat.
Nov. 2: Big Ten coaches express frustration with the investigation in a 90-minute video call with commissioner Tony Petitti and demand action, according to ESPN.
Nov. 3: Purdue coach Ryan Walters responds, saying: "What's crazy is they aren't allegations. It happened. There's video evidence. There's ticket purchases and sales that you can track back. We know for a fact that they were at a number of our games."
Nov. 3: Stalions resigns his post at Michigan.
Nov. 6: Big Ten notifies Michigan that it could issue some formal disciplinary action against the coach or school after the NCAA revealed its investigative findings to the conference.
Nov. 8: Michigan responds to Big Ten, saying in a 10-page letter that any attempt by the conference to punish the school would be a breach of the league's handbook and would "exceed the commissioner's authority under the Sportsmanship Policy."
Nov. 10: Big Ten suspends head coach Jim Harbaugh for the rest of the 2023 football regular season after it found Michigan "in violation of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy for conducting an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition."
Nov. 10: Michigan responds by saying it intends to file a court order hoping that Harbaugh can stay on the sideline during games until the case is fully resolved.
More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | Teams
Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Picks