Harbaugh to be honorary captain for U-M opener

Jim Harbaugh will be back at Michigan Stadium for the Wolverines‘ season opener.

The former Michigan coach has accepted an invitation to be the team’s honorary captain for the Wolverines’ Aug. 31 game against Fresno State.

“I look forward to having him back in Ann Arbor for that game,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in an interview on the “1 Star Recruits” podcast.

Harbaugh left Michigan to take the head-coaching job with the Los Angeles Chargers after leading the Wolverines to a national championship last season.

Earlier this week, the NCAA announced a four-year show-cause penalty for Harbaugh for impermissible contact with recruits and players while access was restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic, effectively banning him from coaching college football again until 2028. The NCAA claimed that Harbaugh “engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations.”

That case was separate from the NCAA’s investigation into impermissible in-person scouting and sign-stealing allegations from last season that resulted in a three-game suspension of Harbaugh by the Big Ten Conference. The sign-stealing case is still open.

On Thursday, Harbaugh deflected a question about the sanctions levied against him.

“I’m stopping the engagement there with commenting,” he said. “But my only hope is that one day college athletics will be about what’s best for young men and young women who participate in it. That’s really all I’ve got to say about it.”