Michigan football: U-M regents discussed leaving the Big Ten

Today, the Big Ten Conference, under first-year commissioner Tony Petitti, announced that Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh will not be permitted on the sidelines for all three of the Wolverines’ final 2023 regular season games. With U-M currently taking things to court, the regents have reportedly also discussed potentially leaving the conference, according to a new report from Sports Illustrated.

Michigan football: U-M regents discussed leaving the Big Ten

Per Sports Illustrated, leadership at the University of Michigan is angry with the Big Ten Conference, to say the least. Additionally, with Tony Petitti waiting until a court holiday and for Michigan’s flight to Penn State to get into the air before taking action against the Wolverines, the whole school and community is not too happy with Petitti and his leadership.

“Tony Petitti has no idea how badly he just botched his job, but here is a hint: In a meeting last week, Michigan’s regents discussed possibly leaving the Big Ten if Petitti suspended coach Jim Harbaugh without what the school considered due process,” SI’s report reads.

A great point about who is creating the most smoke right now

Additionally, SI’s report goes on to make another great point: who is making the most noise about the Michigan football sign-stealing scandal? Per the report, the answer might be Penn State and Ohio State — which would make a lot of sense given the two program’s high expectations and recent shortcomings against Jim Harbaugh and his Wolverines in Big Ten play.

“Within the Big Ten, there is a widespread perception that two of the programs that have expressed the most outrage are Ohio State and Penn State,” the report reads. “In related news, the two coaches who have to explain to their fan bases why they have been losing to Michigan lately are Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Penn State’s James Franklin. The outrage on a conference call with Petitti, followed by leaked ‘coaches are demanding action!’ stories, were a tactic to convince Petitti that he had to act before the NCAA finished its investigation.”

While Michigan football and the U-M regents are likely not serious about leaving the Big Ten Conference in favor of the SEC, ACC, or Big 12, it is shocking that relations between the school and conference have gotten this bad.

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