NEW: Jim Harbaugh will serve as honorary captain in Michigan's season-opener

NCAA ruling be damned — Jim Harbaugh is headed back to Ann Arbor for the Wolverines' 2024 season-opener...

Matt Lounsberry | Aug 9, 2024

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh celebrates during the trophy presentation after the 34-13 win over Washington at the national championship game at NRG Stadium in Houston on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Michigan Wolverines

The NCAA may not like it, but the University of Michigan has no intention of distancing itself from former head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Just two days after the governing body of collegiate sports hit Harbaugh with a four-year show cause penalty and a one-year suspension, Michigan football is reportedly set to make its former head coach the Wolverines' honorary captain for the season-opener against Fresno State on Aug. 31. Mlive's Aaron McMann was the first to report the news on Friday, and U-M athletic director Warde Manuel confirmed the report during an appearance on the 1 Star Recruits podcast.

"He's going to be an honoray captain for our first game. And I look forward to having him back here in Ann Arbor for that game," Manuel said.

As Michigan football enters a new era under head coach Sherrone Moore, Manuel made it a priority to highlight what the Wolverines were able to accomplish under Harbaugh, noting at Moore's introductory press conference that bringing Harbaugh back as an honorary captain was on his "to-do list". At the time, it was uncertain how Michigan's schedule would align with the Los Angeles Chargers, who hired Harbaugh as its next head coach this offseason.

"If the timing is right, Sherrone and I would like to have him come back as a captain of a game this year," Manuel said at the press conference in January. "If the byes work out, and as he says, take a long and slow bow in front of the fans."

Michigan's season-opener on Aug. 31 will be the first game the Wolverines will have played since winning the national championship on Jan. 8, 2024. Harbaugh finished his coaching tenure in Ann Arbor with an 86-25 overall record and three Big Ten championships to go along with the program's first national title since 1997.

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