Big Ten lays out evidence against Michigan in Jim Harbaugh suspension letter
Jul 26, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti speaks to the media during Big 10 football media days at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
The Big Ten officially announced its disciplinary decision in the Michigan sign-stealing case on Friday, and provided plenty of evidence against the university in doing so.
The conference announced that Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh would be suspended for the final three games of the regular season stemming from an illegal sign-stealing operation run by staffer Connor Stalions. In announcing the decision, the Big Ten also publicly released all correspondence between the conference and school leading up to Friday, which includes a 13-page letter from commissioner Tony Petitti outlining the evidence against Michigan and rebutting the school’s public responses to the claims.
The letter, addressed to Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, outlines the reasoning for the suspension and the evidence behind it. Notably, Petitti admits there is no evidence directly linking Harbaugh to knowledge of the scheme, but that his suspension represents “a sanction against the University” because of the “extraordinary circumstances” of the scandal. He also cited the NCAA’s contention that, based on the governing body’s investigation and evidence, it “knew and could prove” that Stalions had breached rules and operated an illegal sign-stealing before and during the 2023 season.
Petitti also states that the NCAA provided the Big Ten with the “master spreadsheet” Stalions used to organize the illegal scheme. The spreadsheet, which had previously been reported on but not confirmed, included detailed, color-coded charts listing attendance assignments for individuals involved with the scheme, the schedules of Michigan’s opponents, and payments associated with certain games. Stalions’ name was “prevalent” on the spreadsheet.
The letter also takes issue with a number of Michigan’s public assertions regarding the investigation, particularly the school’s claim that it had not reviewed any of the evidence. The Big Ten said Michigan was provided the previously mentioned “master spreadsheet,” as well as other documents, photos, videos, and interviews corroborating the allegations. Petitti also accused the school of trying to prevent the Big Ten from accessing some of the evidence, and dismissed Michigan’s attempts to implicate other schools in sign-stealing as “an argument that violations of the Sportsmanship Rule should be overlooked if ‘everyone is doing it.'”
One portion of the letter suggests that the NCAA has obtained further evidence against Michigan that has yet to be publicly revealed. Petitti wrote that the Big Ten had reviewed evidence that contained “significant new information from interviews that the University attended, information that is covered by confidentiality under the NCAA’s rules so as not discussed further here.”
Michigan has suggested that it will go to court over any Harbaugh suspension. The Big Ten is clearly prepared for that and ready to defend its case on legal grounds while contending that there is more than enough evidence to conclude that someone on the Michigan staff acted illegally.
