The NCAA announced a four-year, show-cause order for former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh on Wednesday for impermissible contact with recruits and players during the COVID-19 pandemic, effectively banning him from college athletics until August 2028.
The NCAA said Harbaugh, who left his alma mater to coach the Los Angeles Chargers after last season’s undefeated national championship, “failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations.”
“Harbaugh engaged in unethical conduct and failed to cooperate when he denied any involvement in impermissible recruiting contacts despite substantial information to the contrary,” the NCAA said in a 48-page decision that several times suggested the coach was not truthful with investigators.
Harbaugh will only face the punishment if he makes an unexpected return to college football within the next four years.
The recruiting case is unrelated to the NCAA’s investigation into impermissible in-person scouting and sign-stealing allegations that roiled Michigan’s championship season in 2023 and resulted in a three-game suspension of Harbaugh by the Big Ten Conference.
