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 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 U-M coach Jim Harbaugh for the final three games of the regular season for violating the sportsmanship policy — this did not state he 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's handlings, saying U-M 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.

“Yesterday, under the guise of the NCAA Rule regarding Head Coach Responsibility the Big Ten decided to penalize Coach Harbaugh without knowing all the facts, and I find that completely unethical, insulting to a well-established process within the NCAA, and an assault on the rights of everyone (especially in the Big Ten) to be judged by a fair and complete investigation," Manuel's statement read in part. "Not liking someone or another university or believing without any evidence that they knew or saying someone should have known without an investigation is not grounds to remove someone from their position before the NCAA process has reached a conclusion through a full NCAA investigative process."

Various reports floated at the time even suggested Michigan was considering leaving the Big Ten (it wasn't) for the way it was treated. In fact, 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, Michigan pulled back its legal dogs 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. 

That season did have a happy ending for the program in Ann Arbor. "Michigan against Everybody" became the rally cry for the group, which not only won all three game without Harbaugh, but followed it up with a Big Ten title, Rose Bowl victory over Alabama and national championship win over Washington to finish a 15-0 season and sit on top of the college football world.

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

So, why the about-face now from Petitti?

Well, it's hard to be sure, but given Michigan is the largest brand in the Big Ten and helps bring in tens of millions of dollars of revenue for all the teams across the league, it stands to reason the commissioner of that league would not want the program to be banned from the College Football Playoff, which is the new mecca of college athletics.

Petitti, per the report, said that U-M's punishment had been served for Harbaugh having already been suspended for those games. Various punishments are still on the table. Current coach Sherrone Moore has accepted a two-game suspension by U-M for his role (allegedly deleting what has said were 52 innocuous text messages with Connor Stalions, the recruiting staffer at the center of the investigation), though there could be possibly be more.

Some of have said a postseason ban is on the table, while others are in line with Petitti that enough is enough, Moore can serve one last relatively minor punishment and the whole that can be over and done with. The belief system attached to each person on what they feel is right is often attached to their area code.

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: Michigan football gets support from Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti