Michigan is undeterred by the NCAA’s sanctions against Jim Harbaugh this week.
Sports Director Warde Manuel he told the 1 Star Recruits podcast this week Harbaugh will be the honorary captain for the school’s home opener against Fresno State. Harbaugh will be officially honored by Michigan less than a month after the NCAA handed him a one-year suspension and a four-year ban for failure to cooperate in an investigation into recruiting violations.
“I’m looking forward to seeing it,” Manuel said. he told the podcast“He’ll be an honorary captain for our first game. I look forward to having him back in Ann Arbor for that game.”
Of course, the penalties are a bit irrelevant at this point. Harbaugh is the coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. He took the job in January after leading Michigan to a 15-0 season and a national championship. It was the Wolverines’ first title in the College Football Playoff or BCS era and the school’s first since a shared national title in 1997.
The season’s success is an obvious reason Michigan wants to bring Harbaugh back. And he’s off that weekend, as the NFL season begins a week after the college football season. It will also be the first home opener Harbaugh will attend in two seasons. He couldn’t be at last season’s home opener because of a three-game suspension Michigan imposed on itself as part of the recruiting investigation.
The NCAA ruled that Harbaugh had lied to investigators about meeting with recruits during the COVID-19 downtime. The governing body and Michigan were working toward a four-game suspension for Harbaugh at the start of the 2023 season as part of that investigation, but the deal fell apart before Michigan self-imposed the three-game ban. Harbaugh was then suspended for the final three games of the regular season by the Big Ten over the Connor Stalions early scouting scandal.
The game will be the first for Michigan coach Sherrone Moore as the team’s permanent head coach. He served as interim coach at various points during Harbaugh’s suspensions in 2023 and was promoted from offensive coordinator after Harbaugh left for the Chargers. Moore could also end up with an NCAA suspension of his own at some point. According to a draft notice of allegations obtained by the NCAA, Moore could be punished by the governing body as part of the sanctions over the Stalions scandal.