While rumors swirled about Jim Harbaugh potentially having his pick of NFL teams to coach next season, the Michigan football world was rocked by the revelation of an NCAA violation on Thursday.
The news got worse as it was revealed that Michigan and Harbaugh are under investigation over numerous potential rules violations, one of which is directed at Harbaugh for failing to cooperate with investigators. The allegations against Harbaugh state that he misled NCAA investigators when confronted with questions about the Level II allegations, which in itself is a Level 1 violation, the highest level of violation from the NCAA.
Friday, a rumor started circulating about the specific reason Harbaugh got hit with the Level 1 violation. Apparently, it had to do with a couple of hamburgers.
Chris Balas of On3 is claiming that Harbaugh wasn’t very forthcoming about a meal he’d purchased for recruits.
“The reason Jim got a Level One, apparently, is because two committed recruits stopped by during COVID for an impromptu visit and he took them to The Brown Jug for a Jug Burger in the morning,” said Balas. “They found a receipt, but I guess he wasn’t completely honest about it.”
If true, that’s a pretty classic “coverup is worse than the crime” scenario.
We’ll see if the details shake out and get confirmed, but until then, the college football world had a field day with the burger-based rumor.
“Hey Brown Jug— love your menus, but if there isn’t a LEVEL 1 VIOLATION burger by the fall season you’re letting us down.” said Scott Robbins.
Hey Brown Jug— love your menus, but if there isn’t a LEVEL 1 VIOLATION burger by the fall season you’re letting us down
— Scott Robbins, The Guy who Drew The Blockhams (@TheBlockhams) January 6, 2023
“Would explain a lot of Michigan’s recruiting issues if the best food they could offer on visits is a hamburger at Brown Jug,” said the NY Post’s Ethan Sears.
Would explain a lot of Michigan's recruiting issues if the best food they could offer on visits is a hamburger at Brown Jug https://t.co/yrLgmQXKmQ
— Ethan Sears (@ethan_sears) January 6, 2023
“My sincere hope is that rumor is true. I need to know the order at Brown Jug, how much Harbaugh tipped, everything,” said Salt Lake Tribune writer Josh Newman.
My sincere hope is that rumor is true.
I need to know the order at Brown Jug, how much Harbaugh tipped, everything. https://t.co/dwPp1zm2bo
— Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) January 6, 2023
“I swear to god I refused to look up what the allegations were against Harbaugh and now I’m like “I will buy everyone involved a burger at the Brown Jug,” said NY Times writer Jane Coaston.
I swear to god I refused to look up what the allegations were against Harbaugh and now I'm like "I will buy everyone involved a burger at the Brown Jug"
— Jane Coaston 🏔️ (@janecoaston) January 6, 2023
It makes sense that the violation would be food-related as Harbaugh has had quite a few food-based controversies over the years, including getting photographed drinking milk with steak and his eating habits while on vacation.
[BroBible, Chris Balas of On3]
