In November, as Michigan football was entering the meat of its 2023 schedule en route to Happy Valley to face Penn State, the Big Ten took unprecedented action, suspending head coach Jim Harbaugh for three games due to Connor Stalions’ alleged in-person sign-stealing scheme. The Wolverines sought an injunction through the courts, but it wasn’t granted, and ultimately, the school stopped its fight against the Big Ten and commissioner Tony Petitti.
Yes, there was some bluster. Michigan had workshopped the idea of leaving the conference, but ultimately it bowed, and the Wolverines won anyway. They beat Penn State, Maryland, and Ohio State without Harbaugh. Then they beat Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game, Alabama in the Rose Bowl, and Washington in the national championship.
Now, the maize and blue have to coexist with their conference and its first-year commissioner. And Petitti told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg that bygones are now apparently bygones.
Petitti called his first football season as Big Ten commissioner “remarkable,” noting the national championship won by Michigan, the first Big Ten team to earn a title since Ohio State in 2014. The Big Ten’s decision to impose in-season discipline for Michigan — coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended for the team’s final three regular-season games — amid the NCAA’s investigation into illegal off-campus scouting and signal stealing drew significant criticism for Petitti. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, in a piercing statement following the suspension, called the Big Ten’s actions during an NCAA investigation “completely unethical” and “an assault on the rights of everyone.”
Petitti said he and Manuel have moved past the friction and even sat next to each other at a dinner the night before Michigan played Alabama in the CFP semifinal at the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/big-ten-commissioner-tony-petitti-013801856.html
Author : Wolverines Wire
Publish date : 2024-02-15 01:38:01
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