Impending Big Ten sanctions of Michigan football lend a weird vibe to a big game week

Uncertainty hung in the air as Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh walked through Schembechler Hall on Monday afternoon, heading toward a group of reporters.

He passed a giant slogan that stretched across the wall to his right: “This is Michigan.”

It’s an inspiring phrase.

But on this November afternoon, it felt like it had a different meaning.

Harbaugh is coaching one of the best teams in the country, getting his team ready to play No. 9 Penn State on Saturday in a massive game. The Wolverines have a fantastic, talented team that has rolled through its schedule with hardly a challenge.

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This is Michigan: One of the best teams in the country has a chance to win its first national title since 1997. These should be nothing but giddy times.

The other side to that slogan, however, is full of irony.

This is Michigan: Controversy and uncertainty loom over this program as the NCAA investigates in-person scouting and sign-stealing allegations, the Big Ten has given Michigan formal notification regarding potential disciplinary action and it is unclear if Harbaugh will even be allowed on the sideline in Happy Valley.

So ... basically, at least for this fall ... your normal day in Ann Arbor.

Big Ten coaches and athletic directors have pressured first-year commissioner Tony Petitti to punish Harbaugh for the sign-stealing scandal involving Connor Stalions, a low-level staffer who resigned Friday after nearly two weeks of allegation after allegation.

The NCAA gave its findings to the Big Ten and the conference is considering a multi-game suspension, according to Yahoo Sports.

Some say Michigan should be punished right now, a sentiment that I completely understand. It seems pretty clear that this happened. But here’s the tricky part: It’s not clear who was involved. Who directed it? Who paid for it? Who knew about it?

If the NCAA uncovers any evidence that Harbaugh was involved, there is no question that he should be punished, if not fired. (Remember, Harbaugh was already suspended three games by the school this season for allegedly misleading NCAA investigators on unrelated violations.)

But the NCAA has not found any evidence of Harbaugh's involvement, according to reports.

That puts the Big Ten in an impossible situation. Because this controversy was uncovered during the season.

I can make a argument that the Big Ten should wait until the NCAA investigation is complete before handing down punishment. That seems fair. Normally, the NCAA moves at a glacial pace: It still hasn't wrapped up the Level II violations the program is alleged to have committed back in 2020 — it's hard to believe this investigation could be finished in a matter of weeks.

But I can also see the other side of the argument: If the NCAA does have evidence of cheating, or at least that Michigan violated the Big Ten's sportsmanship policy, what would be the purpose of waiting?

Bringing punishment after this season, after a potential national championship, doesn’t seem right, either (assuming U-M at least gets a chance to refute the allegations).

Only one thing seems certain: If the Big Ten suspends Harbaugh, a bunch of lawyers are gonna make a lot of money.

Because this will be headed to the courts.

A strange press conference

But back to Monday: Harbaugh took a swig of pop and put the can under the podium.

“Big game atmosphere in Schembechler Hall, a ton of enthusiasm and excitement and my energy level was already sky high but then got a visit from the Nature Boy, Ric Flair," Harbaugh said. "Very close friend, and that just brought the enthusiasm to a new level.”

It was a bizarre press conference, even by Harbaugh standards.

At one point, he went on a long, rambling discussion of his team’s accomplishments.

In normal times, this would be wonderful for reporters. But these are not normal times, and it felt like a filibuster, just filling up space.

Heck, it got to the point where I thought he might start reading names from a phone book, just to kill time.

This is Michigan: Everything feels strange right now.

But Harbaugh did talk briefly about the controversy, at least indirectly.

“They just work,” Harbaugh said of how his players are responding to this. “You just go to work, find some work, create some work for you to do just, it clears the mind. It cleanses the soul."

Harbaugh has maintained that he had nothing to do with any sign-stealing. The NCAA has not found any direct evidence linking Harbaugh to the in-person scouting and recording of opponents’ sidelines.

“Nobody wants criticism,” Harbaugh said. “That's why I worked so hard to do everything right, you know, both on and off the field. Because it has been that way for a long time, you know, since I was 22 years old. But if the criticism is directed at me and not on my adolescent kids at home, or the players on the football team, then I'm OK with it.”

MORE FROM JEFF SEIDEL: Follow the money: Michigan football status could hinge on who paid for sign-stealing trips

A controversy that never ends

If it ended right there, it would be a strange Monday.

But the news kept coming — the controversy never stops.

Later in the day, Central Michigan athletic director Amy Folan released a statement saying the investigation into whether Stalions was on the CMU sideline for its Sept. 1 game against Michigan State is getting an NCAA connection.

“Central Michigan continues its review of the matter in cooperation with the NCAA,” Folan said in a statement obtained by The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach. “As this is an ongoing NCAA enforcement matter, we are unable to provide further comment at this time.”

If it was Stalions captured in numerous screen grabs from the broadcast — and we haven’t heard from the Chips that it wasn’t — I find it hard to believe he wound up on the sideline wearing CMU gear without someone knowing.

Is Stalions the smoking gun in shades?

Then, more news.

A little after 4 p.m., Michigan put out a statement that athletic director Warde Manuel was staying in Ann Arbor instead of traveling to Dallas for the CFP committee's weekly rankings meeting, “attending to important matters regarding the ongoing investigation into our football program.”

So where does this leave us?

Waiting for the Big Ten to make an announcement.

Waiting for some kind of decision.

Waiting for the lawsuits.

This is Michigan.

In a massive game week, when — somehow — the game seems so secondary.

Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.

Find everything you need to know about the Michigan football sign-stealing scandal with our weekly Wolverines insider podcast, "Hail Yes," found wherever podcasts are available (Apple, Spotify) and on-demand at freep.com/podcasts.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football back in limbo until it gets to face Penn State