Former Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh Will Serve As Honorary Captain For Wolverines Season Opener

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in an appearance on the 1 Star Recruits podcast earlier this week that former Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh will serve as an honorary captain for their season opener against Fresno State on Aug. 31.

This announcement comes days after the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions handed down a four-year show-cause penalty to Harbaugh for recruiting violations during a dead period during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report released said that Harbaugh “violated recruiting and inducement rules, engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations.”

The penalty is not related to the ongoing investigation regarding Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal, and more penalties could be dished out when that ends.

But after a national championship win last season, Manuel and the university will have Harbaugh return to The Big House for the coin toss when Fresno State comes to Ann Arbor in Week 1.