Michigan football possibly facing punishment for NCAA rules violations

Though many Michigan football fans would like to forget that 2020 ever happened, the NCAA sure hasn’t. Right now, not even a week after the Wolverines’ 13-1 season came to a close, the NCAA has begun an investigation into recruiting violations committed by Jim Harbaugh and Co. during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period.

What are the violations that Michigan football has been accused with?

According to ESPN, the NCAA will be investigating Michigan’s program for alleged recruiting violations during the NCAA-sanctioned dead period in 2020. This announcement came just hours after Jim Harbaugh publicly dismissed the rumors that he planned on heading to the NFL. Now, the Wolverines are in a tough spot.

The allegations against Michigan football include alleged impersonable contact with recruits during the dead period, as well as the possible use of a defensive analyst for on-field coaching activities. While neither may seem like that big of a deal, these are both NCAA rules violations.

According to sources, Jim Harbaugh could be facing a suspension of up to six games for the alleged violations.

Other information surrounding Michigan’s violations

Although all of this has gone public, there have been no official notice of allegations sent by the NCAA yet. According to sources, the NCAA is drafting a notice of allegations that include one Level I (the most serious level of allegations) allegation as well as four Level II allegations. As of Thursday, Warde Manuel (Michigan’s athletic director) and Jim Harbaugh (the Wolverines’ head coach) have declined to comment on the situation.

Michigan’s 59-year-old head coach has been generating a lot of buzz in the college football world for many reasons as of late — some good and some bad. The Wolverines’ 13-0 start, which included a win over Ohio State and a Big Ten Championship, was the talk of the town in the Big Ten. Michigan’s loss to TCU in the Fiesta Bowl drop the Wolverines’ bowl record to 1-6 under Jim Harbaugh, which needless to say is not a good thing.

Harbaugh has been the subject of a lot of NFL hype as of late, and despite talking to a few NFL franchises about coaching positions, Harbaugh announced that he plans on staying at U-M in 2023. Still, he appears to be leaving the door open for an NFL return at some point by saying he is not sure what his future holds. We will continue to monitor this situation closely as it unfolds — it could play a large role in Michigan’s 2023 success.