There were reports last week that Jim Harbaugh, the former Michigan football coach, would serve as the honorary captain for the 2024 season opener on August 31 against Fresno State (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC), but that has now changed, and he will not be attending.

During his first media session since the Wolverines started fall camp on July 31, Sherrone Moore, the new head coach, revealed that Harbaugh would not be able to attend and would remain on the West Coast with his current team, the Los Angeles Chargers.

“He called me yesterday and expressed that he couldn’t leave his team, staying true to Coach Harbaugh’s character, wanting to be fully with them instead of drawing attention to himself,” Moore shared. “Although he can’t make it for the game, we’ll still have some former players present, and Jack and Jackie Harbaugh will fill in for him, which is exciting.”

The announcement was made public just a week ago, following athletic director Warde Manuel’s statement on the “1 Star Recruits” podcast, and it received some criticism due to the timing.

Just days earlier, the Division I committee of investigation shared a detailed 48-page document with the NCAA that outlined several alleged violations by Harbaugh, including misleading investigators, which led to a four-year show cause penalty and a one-year suspension if he chooses to return to college coaching.

Additionally, the Detroit Free Press, part of the YSL News Network, reported that U-M received a draft notice for a separate NCAA inquiry into the program’s suspected illegal off-field scouting activities, with Harbaugh being identified as a Level I violator for not addressing “red flags” in his program.

When Moore was questioned about the timing of Harbaugh’s absence, which seemed to coincide with these developments, he clarified that the decision had been in place for months. Program spokesman Dave Ablauf confirmed this, mentioning similar points to the Free Press last week about Warde previously discussing this at Sherrone’s hiring press conference.

“I spoke with Coach just yesterday, and this decision was made back in March or perhaps January or February,” Moore stated on Tuesday. “It was meant to honor him and recognize his contributions to Michigan football over nine years that brought us to this point.”

“This was all about honoring him, nothing else,” Moore emphasized.