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Michigan was sentenced to three years probation and recruited punishments from the NCAA for football violations

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 04: Michigan Wolverines fans celebrate while waving a Michigan Wolverines flag during the Big Ten Championship Game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Michigan Wolverines at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 04, 2021 in Indianapolis, IL . (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Michigan and five current or former employees of its football program have reached an agreement with the NCAA regarding recruiting violations and “coaching activities of non-coaching employees within the football program and the corresponding penalties for those violations.”

According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, Michigan will serve three years of probation, face a fine and restrictions on recruiting, and the penalized coaches will be given a one-year citation.

A former Michigan coach — believed to be former head coach Jim Harbaugh — did not participate in the agreement, and the NCAA's Committee on Infractions will handle that case separately.

“Agreed violations include improper in-person recruiting contacts during a COVID-19 dead period, improper tryouts, and program exceeding the number of allowable countable coaches when non-coaching staff are involved in coaching activities on and off the field (including) . Providing instruction in technical and tactical skills to student-athletes,” the NCAA said in a statement. “The negotiated resolution also included the school's agreement that the underlying violations constituted a breach of the head coach's responsibilities and that the former head football coach had failed in his responsibility to cooperate with the investigation. The school also agreed that it “failed to deter and detect improper recruiting contacts and failed to ensure that the football program complied with non-training staff rules.”

In a notice of allegations sent to Michigan in January, the NCAA alleged that the Wolverines had improper meetings with two recruits during a COVID-19 dead period. Other violations – all considered Level II – include texting a recruit outside of a contact period, exceeding NCAA limits for coaches on the field, having analysts instruct players during practice and coaches instructing players during practice over Zoom observe.

“Today’s joint resolution affects the University of Michigan athletic department and several former and current employees,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement. “We are pleased to find a resolution to this matter so that our student-athletes and our football program can move forward. We have no additional information and cannot comment further on other aspects of the NCAA inquiries.”

Harbaugh served a self-imposed three-game suspension at the start of the 2023 season for making false statements that the NCAA deemed false as part of that investigation.

This verdict is unrelated to the sign theft investigation in Michigan, which is ongoing.

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