News emerged on Saturday that an agreed resolution had collapsed as to potential charges by the NCAA against Michigan coach (and former 49ers coach) Jim Harbaugh.
Via Pete Thamel of ESPN.com, it happened because the NCAA Committee on Infractions rejected the proposed deal, which would have resulted in a four-game suspension to start the season.
This means that the committee did not agree with the settlement that the folks negotiating directly with Harbaugh’s representatives deemed to be acceptable.
“The Michigan infractions case is related to impermissible on and off-campus recruiting during the COVID-19 dead period and impermissible coaching activities -- not a cheeseburger,” Derrick Crawford, the NCAA vice president of hearing operations, said in a statement, via Thamel. (The “cheeseburger” reference relates to a supposed oversimplification of the case by some members of the media.) “It is not uncommon for the COI to seek clarification on key facts prior to accepting. . . . [T]he COI may also reject [a negotiated resolution] if it determines that the agreement is not in the best interests of the Association or the penalties are not reasonable. If the involved parties cannot resolve a case through the negotiated resolution process, it may proceed to a hearing, but the committee believes cooperation is the best avenue to quickly resolve issues.”
Frankly, it’s a crappy way for the NCAA to do business. Why bother to negotiate with the NCAA when the people at the front lines of the negotiation don’t have the final and binding authority to settle the deal?
Harbaugh’s attorney, Tom Mars, should be upset. Mars also wasn’t pleased with the NCAA’s decision to comment publicly on the case.
“Pursuant to the NCAA’s internal operating procedures, and under threat of penalties, Michigan, the involved coaches, and their lawyers are prohibited from uttering a word about this ongoing case,” Mars said in a statement. “Yet the NCAA can issue a public statement putting its spin on the case?”
Harbaugh should refuse to do any further deal with the NCAA clear and unequivocal indications that the agreement will be respected. He also should resist any agreement until after the season, given the possibility that a window to the NFL will fly open, allowing him to give the NCAA the finger as he flees potential punishment via a return to pro football.