ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The Big Ten Conference pushed back Tuesday on a claim by a University of Michigan regent that Commissioner Tony Petitti threatened to punish the school if it refuses to support a plan that would clear the way for $2.4 billion in private investment in the league.

Mark Bernstein, chairman of the Michigan board of regents, told The Associated Press this week that Petitti had attempted to “strong-arm” Michigan in a move he said “calls into question his continued leadership of the Big Ten Conference.”

“The Big Ten conference commissioner has threatened the University of Michigan with penalties if we do not approve this deal,” said Bernstein, declining to provide specifics. “Nobody pushes around the University of Michigan — ever.”

The Big Ten disputed the allegation th

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