The NCAA has sanctioned former University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh for recruiting violations and dishonesty during the investigation, potentially barring him from collegiate coaching for four years.

Harbaugh, now head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, engaged in unethical conduct and failed to promote compliance during the Covid-19 dead period. He also lacked transparency in the investigation, according to the NCAA’s statement.

The infractions report reveals Harbaugh made impermissible in-person contacts with student-athletes during the Covid-19 recruiting dead period. He denied involvement in these violations, despite overwhelming evidence, and refused to participate in a hearing.

In February 2021, Harbaugh met a prospect and his father at a diner, later providing access to Michigan’s football facility. A similar meeting occurred the following month. Initially, Harbaugh claimed no recollection of these events, later unequivocally denying them.

Now coaching in the NFL, these sanctions will only impact Harbaugh if he returns to college football within the next four years.

The NCAA imposed a four-year “show-cause order” on Harbaugh, barring him from all athletically related activities at any NCAA school employing him. If hired during this period, he would be suspended for the first season of employment, with those games not counting toward his career record. The show-cause order runs until August 6, 2028.

Harbaugh’s recruiting violations were classified as level II, but his unethical conduct and lack of cooperation escalated the penalties to level I.

Harbaugh’s attorney, Tom Mars, mocked the sanctions on X, likening them to a high school suspension after graduating to college. Mars dismissed the findings as irrelevant given Harbaugh’s lucrative contract with the Chargers.

Last year, the Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for the final three regular-season games following an NCAA investigation into sign stealing, unrelated to the recruiting violations. Harbaugh’s Wolverines went on to win Michigan’s first national title in the playoff era with a 34-13 victory over the Washington Huskies.

In April, the NCAA announced an agreement with Michigan on separate recruiting violations during the Covid-19 pandemic, imposing penalties including probation, fines, and one-year show-cause orders for five individuals involved in the football program’s infractions.

For more details, visit the full NCAA statement.