Big Ten punishment for Michigan released

It’s finally here. We know what the punishment for Michigan will be from the Big Ten. We’ve been waiting for some official word based on the evidence gathered by the Big Ten from the sign-stealing scandal that has rocked the college football world for the last few weeks.

Connor Stalions, a now former Michigan staffer, has been accused of buying tickets for opponents’ games to advance scout those games. He also is accused of buying tickets for others and having them videotape opponents’ signals that they were giving on the sidelines.

We’ve been waiting to see if the Big Ten was going to take any action before the NCAA investigation wraps up. We know that they move at a glacial pace. It seems that Jim Harbaugh is getting off relatively easy once you actually look at the punishment.

The Big Ten issues punishment that Jim Harbaugh cannot coach on the sidelines

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the punishment that the Big Ten has levied is that Jim Harbaugh can’t coach on the sidelines until the NCAA is finished with its investigation. You can see this in the tweet below.

That would seem to be pretty significant on the surface, except that Harbaugh is still allowed to coach the team during the week. He can do all of the prep leading into a game. There is also no mention of removing Michigan’s eligibility for the Big Ten Championship.

This is a pretty soft punishment in my eyes. Neither of the coordinators is affected by this either, which seems unfair. Michigan had no problem winning the first three games this season when he was suspended for those as well.

If this is all Tony Petitti and the Big Ten did, I’m pretty disappointed. Ohio State football fans will not like this.