Big Ten might be moving toward action against Michigan, Jim Harbaugh
The clock might be moving toward Threat Level Midnight for Michigan.
On Thursday night, Pete Thamel of ESPN.com reported that a Thursday conference call between Big Ten athletic directors and conference commissioner Tony Petitti "took on a distinctly different tenor than when they met a week ago."
The call happened one day after Big Ten coaches urged Petitti to take action against Michigan in the face of overwhelming evidence of an elaborate sign-stealing operation within the program run by Jim Harbaugh.
Petitti said on the call, per Thamel, that he will be speaking with Big Ten presidents, that he'll talk again to Michigan, and that he'll potentially talk again to the NCAA. No decision is imminent, but the "tone" was "different" from before.
Thamel explains that the Big Ten schools are pressuring Petitti due to concerns that the NCAA won't move quickly enough to conclude its investigation and issue a ruling. Thus, the Big Ten members have begun to focus on what the Big Ten can do.
Thursday's call reportedly included passionate remarks from Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller. He talked about changes the Spartans had to make on the fly after learning only days before the game that Michigan had stolen their signals. Haller said he was concerned players would be injured because Michigan had the added advantage of knowing what the Michigan State plays would be.
It's a difficult balance for the NCAA and the Big Ten. On one hand, Michigan has rights. On the other hand, this all stinks — and it's getting stinkier all the time.
