Big Ten commissioner Tony Pettiti and Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh have had an awkward first year together. And it still appeared a bit awkward at the end.
Typically, the commissioner hands the conference trophy to the winning team’s coach following the championship game. Instead, Pettiti wound up handing the trophy to injured Michigan guard Zak Zinter, one of the leaders of the team, while Harbaugh celebrated in the background with players.
The Big Ten Championship trophy was presented to Zak Zinter instead of Jim Harbaugh.
Harbaugh and Tony Petitti did exchange a handshake prior to the presentation, though. pic.twitter.com/AXWydoGptP
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) December 3, 2023
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There was still a handshake between the commissioner and head coach, which appeared to be civil enough, though without audio, it’s hard to tell the words exchanged in what appeared to be a bit of a conversation.
People have asked, here’s the handshake between Jim Harbaugh and Tony Petitti before the trophy presentation pic.twitter.com/4n2TXcBojW
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) December 3, 2023
Many have been waiting to see this exchange since Michigan beat rival Ohio State to clinch an appearance in the Big Ten championship game. It was widely expected the Wolverines would beat Iowa — they did, resoundingly so at 26-0 — and that afterward, Pettiti and Harbaugh would be forced to face each other publicly.
The reason for the intrigue was the at times contentious suspension of Harbaugh for the final three games of the regular season. Harbaugh was suspended by the conference for sign-stealing allegations despite the NCAA continuing its investigation at the time of the suspension. Before the punishment was levied, the university issued a strong condemnation of the Big Ten’s potential punishment, saying Pettiti did not have the authority to suspend Harbaugh and said it overstepped due process.
When the suspension came down, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel called out Pettiti, saying that his “hasty action today suggests that this is more about reacting to pressure from other Conference members than a desire to apply the rules fairly and impartially.”
“By taking this action at this hour, the Commissioner is personally inserting himself onto the sidelines and altering the level playing field that he is claiming to preserve,” Manuel said in the statement.
Michigan wound up filing a temporary restraining order against Pettiti and the Big Ten, but withdrew it before a hearing and accepted the Big Ten’s suspension. Not long after withdrawing the filing, Michigan fired its linebackers coach and it was reported he had deleted evidence of the sign-stealing scandal from Michigan computers (the coach denied the claims).
For a scandal that has seemingly delivered drama at every turn, many expected it to continue when the commissioner and the coach he suspended met on stage in Indianapolis. Outside of a trophy exchange to a beloved player and a quick handshake, there wasn’t much drama to speak of.