Just earlier this week, Jim Harbaugh took a moment to reaffirm his stubbornness if not outright defiance.
Asked about reports that indicated Michigan and Harbaugh specifically soon would receive a formal notice of allegations for supposed misdeeds within Harbaugh's Michigan football program, Harbaugh shrugged.
Said he preached accountability, always had and always would; doubled-down that he had zero need to issue an apology.
Wednesday, the NCAA said differently. College athletics' top governing body slammed Harbaugh, the former Michigan and current NFL head coach, with a four-year show-cause penalty.
The NCAA said, in part, "Harbaugh failed to meet his responsibility to cooperate with the investigation."
"A Division I Committee on Infriactions panel determined former Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh violated recruiting and inducement rules, engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations, resulting in a four-year show-cause order."
Moreover, the NCAA release issued midday indicated that Michigan and five current or former individuals who worked or are working directly for the Wolverines football program "reached agreement with NCAA enforcement staff on violations concerning recruiting and coaching activities by non-coaching staff members that occurred within the football program."
Michigan also acknowledged institutional fault as it "failed to monitor the football program."
This case, unrelated to the ongoing probe into former full-time Michigan staffer Connor Stalions's alleged widespread, multi-state sign-stealing probe that also has ensnared the Central Michigan football program, is tied directly to recruiting activities that the NCAA determined took place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NCAA issued a dead-period moratorium on in-person recruiting during that time.
"Harbaugh's violations of the COVID-19 recruiting dead period are Level II violations, but his unethical conduct and failure to cooperate with the membership's infractions process, specifically his false of misleading information, is a Level I violation," the NCAA stated.
The NCAA's detailed, blunt smackdown of Michigan's football program can be read here in its entirety: NCAA slams Michigan football.
Current Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore remains at the center of additional probes and has been accused of deleting more than 50 potentially incriminating text messages from his cell phone, obstructing the probe in the process.
Moore was elevated to head coach at Michigan earlier this year after Harbaugh led the Wolverines for the College Football Playoff title and then bolted to the NFL.