Michigan football, Jim Harbaugh drop court case, accept three-game suspension from Big Ten
Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh will not be on the sideline Saturday when his team goes for its 1,000th win in school history, or the following Saturday when it plays Ohio State with a trip to the Big Ten Championship on the line.
The university announced in a statement Thursday afternoon that the school and Harbaugh have "resolved their pending litigation" with the Big Ten Conference and accepted his three-game suspension for the remainder of the regular season.
"This morning, the University, Coach Harbaugh, and the Big Ten resolved their pending litigation. The Conference agreed to close its investigation, and the University and Coach Harbaugh agreed to accept the three-game suspension," began a statement from Associate Athletic Director Kurt Svoboda. "Coach Harbaugh, with the University's support, decided to accept this sanction to return the focus to our student-athletes and their performance on the field.
"The Conference has confirmed that it is not aware of any information suggesting Coach Harbaugh’s involvement in the allegations. The University continues to cooperate fully with the NCAA’s investigation."
Shortly after U-M announced its decision, the Big Ten released a statement.
"The Big Ten Conference’s commitment to student-athletes, sportsmanship and the Commissioner’s duty to protect the integrity of competition will never waver," the statement began. "Today’s decision by the University of Michigan to withdraw its legal challenge against the Conference’s November 10th Notice of Disciplinary Action is indicative of the high standards and values that the Conference and the University seek to uphold.
"The University of Michigan is a valued member of the Big Ten Conference and the Conference will continue to work cooperatively with the University and the NCAA during this process."
*This is a breaking news story and will be updated.*
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football, Jim Harbaugh accept suspension from Big Ten
