The University of Michigan has filed for a temporary restraining order Friday night in Washtenaw County’s 22nd Circuit Court in an effort to block the Big Ten’s decision to suspend Jim Harbaugh for the remainder of the regular season.
According to court records, judge Timothy P. Connors, who also is a UM law school lecturer, has been assigned the case. Harbaugh and the university board of regents are listed as the plaintiffs, while Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti and the Big Ten Conference are listed as the defendants.
It’s unclear how soon the court will act, but Michigan is hoping for expediency. The third-ranked Wolverines (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) face No. 10 Penn State (8-1, 5-1) at noon Saturday in State College. A judge would need to grant the temporary restraining order before then for Harbaugh to coach in pivotal top-10 showdown.
Petitti and the Big Ten issued a three-game suspension for Harbaugh late Friday afternoon, stating that it violated the league’s sportsmanship policy “for conducting an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that comprised the integrity of the competition
