Jim Harbaugh gives measured response after NCAA announces four-year order and justification

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh had a muted response a day after the NCAA announced a four-year prison sentence for the former Michigan coach over impermissible contact with recruits and players during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m not going to comment any further. My only hope is that someday college sports will focus on what’s best for the young men and women who participate. That’s all I have to say on that,” Harbaugh said Thursday after practice.

The show-cause order effectively bans Harbaugh from participating in college sports until August 2028.

The response to the sanction was markedly different from his reaction Monday, when he continued to deny any knowledge of the impermissible scouting operation that sparked an NCAA investigation into Michigan during its championship run last year.

“Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal. I was raised with that lesson. I’ve raised my family with that lesson. I’ve preached that lesson to the teams I’ve coached. Nobody’s perfect. If you stumble, you apologize and you fix it,” Harbaugh said. “Today, I don’t apologize. I didn’t participate. I wasn’t aware of or complicit in those allegations. So, for me, it’s getting back to work and attacking with a verve unknown to mankind.”

The recruiting case is unrelated to the NCAA’s investigation into impermissible in-person scouting and sign-stealing allegations that impacted Michigan’s 2023 championship season and resulted in Harbaugh’s three-game suspension by the Big Ten Conference.

The NCAA said Harbaugh, who left his alma mater to coach the Chargers, “failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated the accountability obligations of a head coach.”

“Harbaugh engaged in unethical conduct and was uncooperative when he denied any involvement in impermissible recruiting contacts despite substantial information indicating otherwise,” the NCAA said in a 48-page decision that repeatedly suggested the coach was not truthful with investigators.

Harbaugh will only face punishment if he unexpectedly returns to college football within the next four years.

The order will run through Aug. 6, 2028. It requires any school that hires Harbaugh over the next four years to suspend him for the first full season. After that, Harbaugh will still be unable to participate in athletic-related activities, including team travel, practices, film study, recruiting and team meetings until the order expires.

Harbaugh’s attorney, Tom Mars, said Wednesday that the coach was not invited to participate in the settlement process nor was he aware that a settlement had been reached between the school and the NCAA. Mars sharply criticized the NCAA’s punishment.

“In my view, Coach Harbaugh views today’s IOC decision as being like being in college and receiving a letter from your high school saying you’ve been suspended because you didn’t sign your yearbook,” Mars posted on social media. “If I were Coach Harbaugh and had an $80 million contract as head coach of the Chargers, I would pay no attention to the findings of a kangaroo court that claims to represent the principles of the most flagrant and repeat violator of federal antitrust laws in the country.”