Jim Harbaugh to Travel with Michigan for Maryland Game amid Suspension

Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh will travel with his team to Maryland for its Saturday road game against the Terrapins amid his ongoing three-game suspension.

Officially, the Big Ten has suspended Harbaugh for three games due to a "violation of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy for conducting an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years." However, the conference allowed him to continue coaching the team for practices or other team activities.

He already served the first game of that suspension last Saturday against Penn State. Harbaugh traveled with the team to State College, Pennsylvania but did not make the trek to Beaver Stadium for Michigan's 24-15 victory.

Harbaugh has accepted the terms of the three-game suspension. In return, the Big Ten has agreed to close its investigation into Michigan over sign-stealing allegations.

Michigan released a statement on the matter after Harbaugh accepted the conference's penalty.

"Coach Harbaugh, with the university's support, decided to accept this sanction to return the focus to our student-athletes and their performance on the field. The conference has confirmed that it is not aware of any information suggesting Coach Harbaugh's involvement in the allegations. The university continues to cooperate fully with the NCAA's investigation."

The allegations are in response to whether former staff member Connor Stalions went to games featuring other Big Ten schools and potential College Football Playoff opponents for the purpose of recording (and deciphering) their signals in a sign-stealing scheme.

In addition, the NCAA and Central Michigan are investigating whether Stalions improperly gained access to the sideline for CMU's Sept. 1 game against Michigan State.

Central Michigan and the NCAA are also looking into whether he improperly gained sideline access for a game against Michigan State earlier this season. Michigan later played Michigan State on Oct. 21 and won 49-0.

Harbaugh has denied knowledge of any sign-stealing scheme, per an Oct. 19 statement.

"I do not have any knowledge or information regarding the University of Michigan football program illegally stealing signals, nor have I directed any staff member or others to participate in an off-campus scouting assignment. I have no awareness of anyone on our staff having done that or having directed that action."

The 10-0 Wolverines currently sit third in the CFP rankings. They play Maryland on Saturday before a matchup against No. 1 Ohio State the following Saturday. Harbaugh will sit for both, but he can return for postseason play as soon as the Big Ten Championship Game should the Wolverines make it. They'll need to beat OSU to do so.