Big Ten bans Harbaugh for last three Michigan games

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The Big Ten banned Jim Harbaugh from coaching at Michigan’s three remaining regular-season games, defying a warning from the second-ranked Wolverines in an extraordinary confrontation over an alleged sign-stealing scheme that has rocked college football.

Harbaugh was disciplined by the conference less than 24 hours before the Wolverines were to play at No. 9 Penn State in their toughest game of the season so far. His team (9-0) has a shot to win its third straight Big Ten title and the school’s first national championship since 1997.

While Harbaugh is allowed at practices and other activities, he cannot be “present at the game venue.”

In Michigan’s Washtenaw County, a request for a restraining order was filed with Harbaugh and the Michigan board of regents listed as plaintiffs and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and the league as defendants. Courts were closed Friday, the recognized federal holiday for Veterans Day, and it was unclear when Judge Timothy P. Connors, a veteran judge and a Michigan graduate, might rule.

The school accused the Big Ten of trying to “thwart” its plan to seek immediate help from a judge, but the league didn’t get its responses until late Wednesday.

Harbaugh has denied knowledge of an improper scouting scheme. Michigan warned this week that it was prepared to take possible legal action if the conference punished the program before a full investigation; the NCAA and the Big Ten are both looking into the claims.

Such a fight between a league and one of its most storied members is unheard of. The dispute began three weeks ago and the allegations leaked day by day, with it becoming clear the Wolverines do not want their undefeated season derailed by an unfinished investigation of activities it says Harbaugh knew nothing about.

The Big Ten said the school had violated its sportsmanship policy by conducting “an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years” that resulted in “an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition.” As a result, the Big Ten said Michigan must play without Harbaugh against the Nittany Lions (8-1), next week at Maryland, and in the annual showdown game against archrival and No. 3 Ohio State two weeks from now. If Michigan wins out, he would be clear to return for the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis.