Michigan is asking the court for a restraining order to block Jim Harbaugh’s suspension

7:55 PM PT — Michigan and Jim Harbaugh won’t go down without a fight … U of M has asked a Washtenaw County court to grant a temporary restraining order that would block the Big Ten’s suspension of the head coach.

The TRO would put Harbaugh’s three-game regular-season ban on hold until the matter could go before a judge.

While the restraining order has yet to be granted, the man who will ultimately decide what happens to Harbaugh, whether he’s the coach in Saturday’s crucial football game against Penn State, is a judge who graduated from the University of Michigan in the 1990s.

1:36 p.m. PT — Univ. Michigan officials just ripped the conference ruling in a scathing statement … writing, in part, “We are dismayed by the commissioner’s rush to judgment when there is an ongoing NCAA investigation, one of which we are fully cooperating.”

“By taking this action at this time,” they add, “the commissioner is personally inserting himself on the sidelines and disrupting the level playing field he claims to preserve. And, doing so on Veterans Day — a judicial holiday –. attempting to prevent the University from seeking immediate judicial relief is not a profile of impartiality. To ensure fairness in the process, we intend to seek an injunction, along with Coach Harbaugh, to prevent this disciplinary action from taking effect.”

The Big Ten just suspended Jim Harbaugh for the rest of the regular season … after he says the Michigan football team was involved in a complex, rules-violating signal-stealing scheme.

The conference announced that Harbaugh will still be able to coach his team on weekdays while serving his suspension … but for the Wolverines’ three remaining game days this year, he must not be present.

Of course, it’s a big deal for UM, considering two of those three contests are against No. 10 Penn State and No. 1 Ohio State.

However, Michigan is expected to seek legal action now that could allow Harbaugh to still coach his team during Saturday’s game against the Nittany Lions.

The scandal surrounding Harbaugh and the Wolverines began after the team’s staff Connor Stallions was accused of buying tickets to Big Ten games for the past three years with the intent of trying to decipher the sideline signals of Michigan’s opponents.

In announcing its punishment for Harbaugh on Friday … the Big Ten said it found at least some level of validity in the claims, writing that Michigan gained “an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of the competition” over all.

This isn’t the first time Harbaugh has been in hot water this season … he was also ejected from the team’s first three games for alleged infractions during the COVID dead period.

Michigan is currently 9-0 despite all the drama … and ranked third in the nation.