Michigan and coach Jim Harbaugh are under investigation for multiple rules violations by the NCAA, which sent the Wolverines a draft of a Notice of Allegations on Thursday. The allegations include one Level I violation against Harbaugh himself as well as multiple Level II violations, according to multiple reports.
“Yesterday, we received draft allegations from the NCAA regarding our football program. We have cooperated and will continue to cooperate with this investigation. Out of respect to the NCAA’s enforcement process, we will not offer further comments,” athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement.
The Level II violations reportedly include accusations that Michigan held practices with too many coaches on the field, contacted two prospects during the extended COVID-19 dead period, and observed practices via an unauthorized video feed. The Level I violation — which is the most serious accusation — is that Harbaugh misled the NCAA when it approached him with the allegations.
A Level I violation could result in suspension and, in some cases, grounds for dismissal based on the language of the coach’s contract. In this case, the school could move to terminate Harbaugh’s contract, according to Yahoo Sports.
Providing false and misleading information is a violation of NCAA Bylaw 10.1, which deals with unethical conduct. Violations of this bylaw include obstructing an investigation or encouraging another person to lie. It is considered a “significant” violation, but is not always a Level I infraction.
It’s rare that a sitting Power Five coach would be charged with misleading the NCAA, but there is precedent. When UConn received its notice of allegations in 2018, the NCAA said Huskies’ basketball coach Kevin Ollie “provided false or misleading information” regarding contact with the recruit. Ollie was eventually given a three-year show-cause penalty and fired by the school.
The unethical conduct violation has its foundational base in the old phrase, “The cover up is worse than the crime.” But there is no language in the NCAA manual about it being an automatic Level I violation, so there is some gray area there.
That’s the issue with a potential notice of allegations for Michigan: it may not be finalized at his point. Its contents are not certain until the document becomes public, and as with all cases, it’s what violations are alleged and what can…
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