Report: Big Ten commish wrote letter to NCAA, asks for no further punishment for Michigan

As the saying goes: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti wrote a letter to the NCAA earlier this summer suggesting it not punish the Michigan football program any further for its transgressions as it relates to its advanced scouting/sign-stealing scandal, according to an ESPN report Monday, July 21. That letter was then read aloud at the June meeting before the committee on infractions in Indianapolis.

The NCAA charged Michigan with 11 rule infractions, six falling in the Level I category, the most serious offenses. A decision is expected sometime before the 2025 season begins.

Petitti, per ESPN's report, wrote that U-M's punishment had been served. Jim Harbaugh, the coach at the time, took a three-game suspension from the Big Ten to conclude the 2023 regular season.

Various punishments are still on the table. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore in May accepted a two-game suspension by the school for his role in 2023 — allegedly deleting 52 text messages with Connor Stalions, the staffer at the center of the investigation.

Petitti blew the whistle in October of 2023, calling Michigan State's program and letting staffers know his office had reason to believe their signals had been "compromised" and offering to even let them bow out of the game.

Weeks later, when the Big Ten office suspended Harbaugh for the final three games of the regular season for violating the sportsmanship policy — this did not state Harbaugh had any connection to the sign-stealing plot, but rather the scheme violated the league's policy since it resulted "in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition" — there was an uproar in Ann Arbor.

"This is not a sanction of Coach Harbaugh. It is a sanction against the University that, under the extraordinary circumstances presented by this offensive conduct, best fits the violation because: (1) it preserves the ability of the University's football student-athletes to continue competing; and (2) it recognizes that the Head Coach embodies the University for purposes of its football program," the Big Ten release read in part.

Then Michigan-president Santa Ono expressed his displeasure with the conference, saying the school needs to be given "due process" just like any other person or entity would on pending legal action in America. Additionally, athletic director Warde Manuel lambasted the Big Ten's decision, calling it "unethical" and an "assault on the rights of everyone" with the way it was handled.

Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines during the first half against the Connecticut Huskies at Michigan Stadium, Saturday, September 17, 2022.

Michigan filed a lawsuit requesting a preliminary injunction which would have delayed the decision and allowed Harbaugh to coach the final regular season games, but the night before U-M was due in court, the university pulled back and accepted the Big Ten's punishment so it could re-focus on the team.

"This morning, the University, Coach Harbaugh, and the Big Ten resolved their pending litigation. The Conference agreed to close its investigation, and the University and Coach Harbaugh agreed to accept the three-game suspension," former associate athletic director Kurt Svoboda said in a news release. "Coach Harbaugh, with the University's support, decided to accept this sanction to return the focus to our student-athletes and their performance on the field."

Michigan won all three games without Harbaugh, then took a third straight Big Ten championship game, earned a Rose Bowl victory over Alabama in a College Football Playoff semifinal and won the national championship over Washington to finish a 15-0 season.

"We're innocent," Harbaugh proclaimed while accepting the trophy.

Some have said a postseason ban for Michigan football is on the table, while others are in line with Petitti and that Moore can serve one final punishment.

Still, while the NCAA doesn't have to listen to the request, it feels notable the man who U-M fans booed when he handed Zak Zinter the Big Ten championship trophy in 2023, has now gone to bat for the Wolverines.

Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Report: Big Ten commish wrote letter to NCAA, asks for no further punishment for Michigan