Jim Harbaugh opts out as Michigan's honorary captain for opener

ByAdam Rittenberg ESPN logo

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will no longer serve as honorary captain for the Wolverines' season opener, as he continues to prepare for his first season as Los Angeles Chargers coach.

Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore said Tuesday that Harbaugh called Monday to say he won't be attending Michigan's Aug. 31 game against Fresno State, when the team will celebrate its national championship at Michigan Stadium. According to Moore, Harbaugh said he wanted to remain focused on his first Chargers team and not take away from the 2024 Wolverines squad.

The Chargers open the season Sept. 8 against Las Vegas.

Harbaugh's parents, Jack and Jackie Harbaugh, will stand in for him at the Aug. 31 opener. Jack Harbaugh was a Michigan assistant under Bo Schembechler from 1973 to 1979 and later served as head coach at Western Michigan and Western Kentucky.

Last week, the NCAA announced a four-year show-cause order for Harbaugh, due to impermissible recruiting violations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after the NCAA's ruling, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel told the "1 Star Recruits" podcast that Harbaugh had accepted an invitation to serve as honorary captain for the opener.

Moore also addressed his own involvement in a separate NCAA investigation into the sign-stealing operation allegedly orchestrated by former Michigan staff member Connor Stalions. According to a draft of the NCAA's notice of allegations to Michigan, obtained by ESPN, Moore could face a suspension and other penalties for allegedly deleting a thread of 52 text messages with Stalions in October 2023.

According to the draft, Moore's texts later were recovered and he turned them over to NCAA enforcement staff. Moore said Tuesday that Michigan is fully cooperating with the NCAA infractions process and added of the text thread: "I look forward to them being released."

Although Moore is accused of committing a Level II violation, according to the draft -- Level I violations are deemed the most serious -- he could be labeled a repeat violator by the NCAA after reaching a negotiated resolutions for violations in the separate recruiting infractions case that led to Harbaugh's show-cause order. Moore was suspended for the 2023 season opener as part of the university's negotiated resolution.