NCAA issues punishment for former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh due to recruitment violations

The NCAA has found that former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh violated recruitment procedure during the COVID-19 dead period, the organization announced in a statement released Wednesday. As a result, the NCAA is handing down a four-year show-cause order.

The Division I infractions committee determined that Harbaugh "violated recruiting and inducement rules, engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations." The panel also raised the violation to a "Level I-Aggravated," citing Harbaugh's "intentional disregard for NCAA legislation and unethical conduct."

The punishment seems to both be based on Harbaugh's involvement in the program's recruitment violations and Harbaugh's inability to cooperate, as the former coach refused to participate in a hearing, per the statement.

This case is unrelated to the cheating scandal at Michigan, which Harbaugh has repeatedly denied that he had knowledge of.

Under the show-cause order, Harbaugh, who became the Los Angeles Chargers head coach during the offseason, would be banned from all athletic activities were he to coach a college football team during that four-year period. If he were to join a college team in the next four years, he would be suspended for his first season with the team.

Harbaugh served out a self-imposed three-game suspension to start last season as a result of the recruitment violations. It would be his first of two, as he later served out another suspension served by the Big Ten Conference, related to the cheating allegations. Despite this, Harbaugh and Michigan went on to win the NCAA National Championship.