Jim Harbaugh is suspended due to NCAA recruiting violations that involved impermissible contact with recruits and players during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period. The NCAA found that Harbaugh engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote compliance, and violated his responsibilities as a head coach. As a result, he was handed a one-year suspension and a four-year show-cause order from 2024 to 2028. This means if he returns to college coaching during this period, he must serve a one-season suspension and is restricted from all athletics-related activities at NCAA institutions during the order. These violations were classified as Level I-Aggravated, the most serious level, because of his deliberate disregard for NCAA rules and unethical conduct.

This suspension is separate from a previous Big Ten suspension linked to a sign-stealing scandal involving Michigan's football program in 2023.