Before new Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has put his first points on the scoreboard in The Big House, the school has self-reported four minor NCAA violations in football that have occurred under Harbaugh's watch.
The violations are classified as Secondary/Level III. Violations of that nature typically result in no punitive action by the NCAA and are handled through education of the coaching staff through the school's compliance department. According to mlive.com, two of the violations directly involved the former San Francisco 49ers head coach.
In one violation, Harbaugh donated an autographed team helmet and a jersey to an auction without having the donation first reviewed by compliance. The auction was organized by a former high school classmate of Harbaugh's to benefit suicide awareness and prevention. UM's report indicated that the violation occurred because funds from the auction, unbeknownst to Harbaugh, supported a scholarship fund named for a student who had committed suicide. The NCAA prohibits donations to high school scholarship funds. In another case, four days before the donation violation, Harbaugh and two of his staff members permitted a recruit to sit with them in premium seating at a hockey game.
Harbaugh borrowed from literary great Oscar Wilde with a Tweet on Monday:
The other violations involved impermissible recruiting materials sent to a recruit electronically, and an assistant coach who spoke publicly about a pending incoming transfer prematurely.
Harbaugh left the 49ers after the conclusion of the 2014 regular season and signed a seven-year contract with Michigan worth $5 million per year.
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