Big Ten suspends Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh over sign-stealing investigation

November 10 (UPI) – The Big Ten suspended University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh for the remainder of the season amid an ongoing investigation into a sign-stealing ring.

Harbaugh will be barred from the venue for the remaining three games of the regular season but will still be able to participate in practice and other team activities.

The league said it determined the team was violating sports rules “to gain an unfair advantage by stealing the signs of teams that the university’s football team was scheduled to play later in the season.”

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said the decision to suspend Harbaugh allows the team to play the rest of the season. In a 13-page letter to Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, Petitti said action was necessary because of “the extraordinary nature of the offensive behavior.”

“It is noteworthy that in its response dated November 8, the university does not deny that the impermissible activity took place. Instead, it only provides procedural and technical arguments aimed at delaying accountability “There is nothing wrong with the activities of the university. “Aside from the fact that improper activities by others are not currently supported by facts, the University’s culpability does not depend on the actions of other institutions,” Petitti wrote.

Harbaugh denied knowledge of the alleged plan and said he never instructed employees to break any rules. Michigan President Santa Ono said Friday the school would seek a court order to challenge the decision.

“Commissioner Tony Petitti’s actions today disregard the conference manual, violate basic principles of due process and set an untenable precedent for assessing penalties before an investigation is complete,” Ono said. “We are dismayed by the commissioner’s haste to make a judgment when there is an ongoing NCAA investigation – one with which we are cooperating fully.”

The third-seeded Wolverines are scheduled to face Penn State, Maryland and Ohio State on Dec. 2 in Indianapolis for a possible Big Ten title game.