Wolverine Digest

'It Seems To Me Like Selective Prosecution': CFB Analyst Believes NCAA Is Targeting Jim Harbaugh

The NCAA has now opened a second investigation into Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Football program, and it's certainly starting to feel personal.

Christopher Breiler

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The NCAA has now opened a second investigation into Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Football program, this time for alleged sign-stealing from future opponents. While the practice of stealing-signs is a widely used tactic throughout football, the NCAA is alleging that Michigan has established a "vast network" that includes sending unnamed individuals to scout future opponents in-person - which would be an NCAA violation. 

While fans and analyst have spent the last 24 hours speculating on what evidence the NCAA has to back up its allegations, one thing has become abundantly clear - the NCAA is committed to getting Harbaugh for something. It feels personal. 

Paul Finebuam, who is certainly not a member of the Jim Harbaugh fan club, appeared on ESPN's "Get Up" this morning, and said what many within the Maize and Blue community are already thinking. 

"On surface, it is a bad look for Jim Harbaugh," said Finebaum. "But in understanding the NCAA and its enforcement division right now, it's hard for me to imagine that they'll be able to make a solid case." 

A lack of strong evidence seems like it would be a huge problem for the NCAA, particularly given the fact that officials have already leaked critical information of the investigation - information that has painted Jim Harbaugh and his football program as cheaters. That would certainly be a bold move without conclusive evidence, but it also wouldn't come as a surprise given the NCAA's history of ineptitude. 

"I sense that there's some piling on here to Jim Harbaugh," Finebaum continued. "He turned his nose to them a couple of months ago during his investigation, and it seems to me like selective prosecution. That doesn't mean that some of this didn't happen. I, frankly, think this happens almost everywhere. Not to the degree that the story is laid out here, but it's some very grey area. I think if this had been someone else, this investigation probably would not have gotten to this point."

Given the ongoing (and selective) onslaught from the NCAA, combined with the increasingly challenging landscape of today's college athletics, Finebaum believes that this will be Harbaugh's last year in Ann Arbor. 

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Christopher Breiler
CHRISTOPHER BREILER

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