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Jim Harbaugh will be suspended in the 2023 season after all. The University of Michigan handed down a self-imposed punishment for its head coach, calling for him to miss the first quarter of the regular season.
The suspension is linked to recruiting violations, as well as a feeling that Harbaugh misled investigators while looking at the case.
Initially, a four-game punishment was imposed though it needed approval from the NCAA Committee of Infractions. That approval was expected to come prior to the Wolverines’ season opener against East Carolina, but then, the agreed upon deal fell through.
The suspension was called off for the ’23 season, leading most to believe that Harbaugh would actually serve his time in 2024 or after.
This week, though, there was another twist, and this one appears to be final.
Yahoo! Sports reports that instead of a four-game ban, Harbaugh will be suspended for the first three games of the 2023 campaign. Those matchups will include ECU, UNLV, and Bowling Green. He will return for the Wolverines’ first Big Ten game against Rutgers.
Harbaugh is expected to be suspended for the first three games of the regular season for making what the NCAA deemed to be false statements amid an investigation into alleged recruiting violations that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic dead period.
The recruiting violations consist of both Level I and II infractions, including texting a recruit outside of a contact period and having impermissible meetings with prospects during a dead time.
Michigan is fresh off of back-to-back Big Ten titles as well as two consecutive College Football Playoff appearances. The Wolverines are now eyeing a national title, but they’ll have to start that journey without their fearless leader.