What is a show-cause order from the NCAA and how does that affect Jim Harbaugh?

The NCAA on Wednesday released the penalties against Harbaugh, the former Michigan football coach, for the first of two NCAA investigations that lingered over him and his program during the Wolverines' undefeated 2023 national championship season.

A committee of infractions panel for the NCAA determined Harbaugh "violated recruiting and inducement rules, engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations" for the recruiting violations committed during the COVID-19 dead period and gave him a four-year show-cause order and one-year suspension.

Harbaugh does not have to worry about it impacting his career as an NFL head coach now with the Los Angeles Chargers, but it would if he tries to return to college coaching by 2028.

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What is a show-cause order?

A show-cause order is a penalty given by the collegiate governing body that only applies to NCAA athletics. The penalties handed down to Harbaugh, including a full one-year suspension, would carry with him if he were to re-enter college athletics, and could be transferred to another school that hires him before the order expires Aug. 6, 2028.

Harbaugh would be banned from all team-related activities including practice, travel, video study, recruiting and team meetings at any school that employed him through that date, on top of a one-year suspension.

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Can you appeal a show-cause penalty?

A school can appeal a coach's punishment through a show-cause meeting with the NCAA infractions panel to explain why the school shouldn't be punished for the hire and how they would monitor the coach moving forward, on top of accepting potential stricter punishments down the line if the coach breaks NCAA rules again.

For example, Auburn hired basketball coach Bruce Pearl in 2014 while he still had the red mark of a show-cause penalty, and chose not to appeal his punishments. Houston hired Kelvin Sampson when he was still under watch for recruiting violations from his time at Indiana.

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Harbaugh was handed down a separate punishment from the other five Michigan football staff members who were involved in the violations during the COVID-19 dead period. The others came to an agreement with the NCAA in April "on violations concerning recruiting and coaching activities by noncoaching staff members that occurred within the football program," that Harbaugh was not a part of, according to the NCAA.

Here's the entire 48-page ruling from the NCAA:

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What is a show-cause order for Jim Harbaugh at Michigan football