The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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66 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2023 M ichigan football has a proud history as a blue blood program that operates cleaner than most when it comes to following rules, recruiting, etc. As head coach Jim Harbaugh said when he was charged with alleged recruiting violations for improper contact with a few recruits and Zoom calls during a dead period this summer, "Compare us to perfect, we're going to come up short in the major areas. Compare us to any other program, and you'll see it doesn't get any better." For some reason, though, the NCAA has decided to put Har- baugh in its crosshairs. There are several theories here, including one that the coach rocks the boat too much for their liking. He was behind satellite camps they had to respond to (eventually banning them), getting the rules changed to allow a one-time transfer without penalty … and now he's messing with their pockets in advocating for revenue sharing for players. Others simply believe Michigan is the low-hanging fruit for the NCAA, unwilling to fight back when the orga- nization needs a scapegoat to make it look like it is doing its job. Those who fight back and don't respect the NCAA's authority — well, they're usually the ones that get off with the equivalent of a five over speeding ticket while driving recklessly. Kansas basketball is the perfect ex- ample. While Harbaugh was charged with one Level 1 (serious) violation for failing to remember dates recruits vis- ited, Jayhawks coach Bill Self and his program were charged with five such violations, for which he received a four-game school-imposed suspension (Harbaugh got three) in a season three times as long as football's. So, what was the NCAA's biggest power play? Taking it out on Oklahoma State and coach Mike Boynton, ban- ning them from the 2021-22 postseason due to violations much more minor than those at Kansas … which just happened to win the NCAA title last year, too. It was "a win" for the Jayhawks, Yahoo's Dan Wetzel said on a recent podcast, calling out the hypocrisy. "Here's what [president] Charlie Baker and the NCAA should announce — we are dropping the [Michigan and] Jim Harbaugh case right now, and we are dropping any other case that's in the middle," he said. "One of the reasons we are absolutely destroyed by Congress, by the public, why these politicians look at us with no credibility, is because we can't enforce our own rules. Our own rules are so selectively enforced, so ri- diculously enforced, so haphazardly, that if you're a politician from Okla- homa, you would say, 'Hey — what the hell, man? Our school got thrown out of the NCAA basketball tournament for allegations of misdemeanors for less of a case, and all these other schools got nothing, essentially, for much more se- rious cases.' "That's why they have no credibility. No fan base in the country trusts the NCAA to do anything. The peo- ple who coach don't trust them; no athletic director trusts them. Everybody looks the same way because they can't do this." But they can, and they con- tinue to try. Michigan even held off extending Harbaugh's con- tract, at least in part due to the optics and how unfavorably the NCAA might view it. They finally got to it in October when Harbaugh made it clear it was a priority. That needs to be step one in the pushback. Step two — telling the NCAA enough is enough, and the three-game suspension is all they're willing to accept. Should the NCAA ob- ject, it's time to pick up the sword for everyone and refuse to recog- nize the NCAA's authority. "There are other cases, for sure," Wetzel said. "I'm just thinking of the [Michigan and] Harbaugh case because it's the most prominent one this season. But you are continually going to the absolute wall to bust Jim Harbaugh for meeting with two recruits and watching some guys work out on a Zoom, to the point where a four-game, agreed-upon suspension was not enough? Then, when they give him three, that's not enough? "… No coach has ever gone in with this much heat [as Self ] and walked out with this little. Kansas killed the NCAA." Michigan Director of Athletics Warde Manuel, President Santa Ono, et al . have the opportunity to put the final nail in the coffin should the NCAA continue to make it personal with Har- baugh. And if they haven't already, they need to make it perfectly clear that's the intention. Harbaugh and his staff de- serve that support, and it can go a long way toward keeping him here if the NFL comes calling again in January. ❑ INSIDE MICHIGAN ❱ CHRIS BALAS Time To Tell NCAA 'Enough Is Enough' The NCAA may or may not listen, but there's a groundswell of national support for the organization to move on from its alleged infractions case against head coach Jim Harbaugh and Michigan. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Chris Balas has been with The Wolverine since 1997. Contact him at cbalas @thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @Balas _ Wolverine.