Jim Harbaugh Files Emergency Motion In Michigan Court Against Big Ten, Tony Petitti; Ruling Could Come Before Kickoff

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has filed an emergency motion against the Big Ten Conference and commissioner Tony Petitti following his suspension on Friday.

This motion was filed in Washtenaw County and seeks an emergency temporary restraining order along with a preliminary injunction. Obviously, this all stems from the Big Ten conference suspending Harbaugh for the remaining three games of the regular season.

Sources tell OutKick that lawyers representing the school and Harbaugh have been planning for this filing this week, knowing they would have to move quick. This was certainly the case, with the Big Ten ruling on Harbaugh coming while the team was en-route to Penn State.

Also, according to sources, the expectation is that a ruling will be made before Saturday's kickoff against Penn State. We could see Harbaugh arrive just before or even after kickoff if the judge rules on the matter.

Jim Harbaugh Legal Team Makes Argument In TRO Filing

In the filing, Harbaugh legal team points towards the irreparable harm that this will do towards the school, along with players.

"It is impossible to quantify the entirety of the significant harm that will befall the University absent injunctive relief, but there can be no doubt that the University, its students, and the community will suffer greatly."

According to reports, even though Michigan alum, Judge Timothy Connors was assigned the case, the judge on-duty Friday night could likely make the ruling. The overnight judge is Carol Kunke.

"Suspension of Coach Harbaugh deep into the team's season would irreparably harm the University's chances of success. This is not merely conjecture. A study out of the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy found that "coaches account for 20 percent to 30 percent of the variation in team outcomes."

The TRO also mentions that this ruling before an investigation was completed will cause reputational issues

"The University itself, and particularly its athletics program, will endure significant and lasting reputational injury if the Conference is permitted to impose a sanction in advance of a full and fair investigation,"

Also, Harbaugh and his lawyers are hoping the court will rule in their favor, which would have the Michigan head coach on the sidelines at Penn State. The two teams are scheduled to play at noon ET on Saturday, so the motion had to be filed Friday night.

The move by Tony Petitti on Friday to suspend Harbaugh was met with mixed reviews, especially with the timing and the courts being closed for the Veterans Day holiday. But, there is always a judge 'on-call' for these types of situations, which is why it was filed on Friday.

Big Ten Knew This Was Headed Towards A Court Room With Jim Harbaugh

Three weeks after the NCAA began investigating the Michigan football program for alleged sign-stealing, the Big Ten has suspended Jim Harbaugh for the remainder of the regular season. After numerous conversations with conference ADs, coaches and presidents, the pressure was mounting for commissioner Tony Petitti to make a decision.

Now that the motion has been filed, we could have a decision on the matter either late Friday night or Saturday morning.

The judge assigned to the case, Timothy Connors, is a University of Michigan lecturer for its law school.

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