After a lengthy wait of nearly two years since its original revelation, the resolution concerning the Michigan sign-acquiring issue has arrived. The Wolverines successfully averted a prohibition from postseason participation; however, they faced a collection of financial penalties potentially surpassing $35 million, along with an additional suspension impacting head coach Sherrone Moore.
Contained within official documentation dispatched to the university on Friday, the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions decreed the following sanctions against the Wolverines:
• A financial imposition equivalent to the anticipated forfeiture of all postseason competition revenue allocations tied to the 2025 and 2026 football campaigns.
• A 10-year show-cause directive applicable to former head coach Jim Harbaugh.
• An 8-year show-cause directive applicable to former staff member Connor Stalions.
• Supplementary match suspension accompanied by a 2-year show-cause directive for head coach Sherrone Moore.
• A four-year probationary period.
• A 3-year show-cause directive for former assistant Denard Robinson.
• A $50,000 penalty, in addition to 10% of the football program’s fiscal plan.
• A financial imposition equal to 10% of the expenses linked to scholarships awarded within Michigan’s football initiative for the 2025-26 academic cycle.
• A 25% curtailment in sanctioned football program visits during the 2025-26 period.
• A 14-week restriction on recruitment-related communications emanating from the football program throughout the duration of the probationary phase.
The committee, an autonomous assembly separate from the NCAA tasked with determining penalties for infractions, omitted from its punitive measures a restriction from postseason opportunities or a retraction of prior victories or championship titles, notwithstanding their documented assertion that “a postseason restriction is compulsory in this situation.” The Wolverines secured triumphs in both the Big Ten and College Football Playoff competitions in the months subsequent to the NCAA’s commencement of its inquiry in October 2023.
The committee’s official justification is presented as follows:
“To synchronize sanctions with the existing environment demanded alterations in specific domains — notably, postseason limitations and scholarship reductions. Importantly, the expedited evolution of the present collegiate athletics landscape relative to potential amendments within the Figure 19-1 Penalty Guidelines does not exonerate Michigan from fundamental core sanctions. The panel adhered, to the degree feasible, to the Figure 19-1 Penalty Guidelines. In instances where adherence was unattainable, equivalent substitute sanctions were mandated. For example, the panel transmuted the mandated postseason limitation and scholarship reductions into corresponding financial penalties.”
“A postseason limitation is indispensable in this matter. Michigan’s scenario is classified as Level I-Aggravated. Refer to Bylaw 19.12.7.1 (stipulating that postseason limitations are reserved for Level I cases characterized by a deficiency in exemplary cooperation and shall be mandated in Level I-Aggravated circumstances). Michigan also exhibits repeat violation status. Refer to Bylaw 19.12.6.2 (indicating that repeat violator status constitutes sufficient justification for prescribing a postseason limitation, even in instances where the institution demonstrated exemplary cooperation). Considering these considerations, a multi-year postseason limitation would be fitting. Nevertheless, the NCAA Constitution articulates, ‘Division and, where appropriate, conference regulations must ensure to the greatest extent possible that penalties imposed for infractions do not punish programs and student-athletes not involved nor implicated in the infractions.’ Refer to NCAA Constitution 4-B-4. The panel ascertains that a postseason limitation would disproportionately penalize student-athletes for actions perpetrated by coaches and staff no longer affiliated with the Michigan football initiative. Consequently, a more commensurate penalty is an offsetting financial sanction.”
Even though the committee opted not to enforce a postseason limitation, the monetary penalties — encompassing the “anticipated forfeiture of all postseason competition revenue” for the 2025 and 2026 seasons — will be significant. During the current season, each Big Ten participant is slated to receive a $6 million disbursement derived from its College Football Playoff allocation. Projections for the subsequent season indicate a surge to $21 million, thereby elevating the cumulative financial penalties and CFP distribution loss for Michigan near the $35 million threshold:
• $7.2 million (10% of the football program’s budget)
• $27 million ($6 million CFP in 2025 + $21 million CFP in 2026)
• $700,000+ (10% of all football scholarships awarded)
A show-cause mandate compels a higher education institution to validate the hiring of a coach found culpable of NCAA infractions and holds the potential to preclude an individual from coaching at the collegiate level for the duration of the sanctioned period.
Former assistant coach Chris Partridge did not incur any punitive measures.
The Big Ten, prompted by the NCAA’s notification of its ongoing investigation amidst the 2023 season, enforced a suspension upon Harbaugh for the concluding three contests of that regular season. Michigan formally announced a two-game suspension for Moore during this spring season. The suspension is effective for the third and fourth matches of the season versus Central Michigan (Sept. 13) and at Nebraska (Sept. 20). The third supplementary match suspension, decreed by the NCAA on Friday, will be served during the inaugural game of the 2026 season.
Moore and the Wolverines commence the season positioned at No. 14 in the Associated Press preseason rankings. Their inaugural game is against New Mexico before journeying to Oklahoma for a Big Ten-SEC confrontation on Sept. 9.
Concurrently, Harbaugh embarks on his second season as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. Stalions has spent some time coaching at the secondary education level.
Stalions presented himself during Michigan’s hearing before the NCAA Committee on Infractions in June. He furnished witness testimony during the two-day assembly, manifesting palpable emotion to the extent of tearfulness while deliberating the repercussions of the inquiry on his prospective coaching path. Individuals present at the hearing communicated with Yahoo Sports under pledges of anonymity.
Per the NCAA’s investigative findings, Stalions, a dedicated Michigan enthusiast and a graduate of Navy, executed an intricate, protracted operation wherein he procured tickets to matches encompassing prospective Michigan adversaries and subsequently dispatched associates — totaling as many as 65 — to attend matches for the purpose of recording a team’s signal communications during play.
Last summer, upon the completion of a ten-month probe, the NCAA formally levied 11 allegations against Michigan, six of which were categorized as Level I. Of particular significance, Moore expunged 52 text communications from Stalions on the same day Yahoo Sports initially unveiled news of the controversy. In a rejoinder submitted to the NCAA in January, as obtained by Yahoo Sports, the university vehemently defended its coach, characterizing the text exchanges as “benign and inconsequential to the inquiry.”
Two years after Michigan was wrapped up in a sign-stealing scandal, run by defensive assistant Connor Stalions (right), the Wolverines finally got their discipline. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Indeed, within that comprehensive 137-page response, the institution refuted numerous alleged regulatory transgressions and accused the NCAA of “manifestly overstepping” and “erroneously exaggerating” the program’s culpability in the absence of credible substantiation implicating other personnel members in Stalions’ unauthorized in-person scouting protocol — the central inquiry within a case that commanded the attention of the entire collegiate sports sphere as it unfolded during 2023.
Not all instances of sign acquisition contravene NCAA regulations. For instance, staff personnel are authorized to acquire an adversary’s signals during match play and from televised or recorded video. However, in adherence to a long-standing NCAA cost-containment principle, institutions are prohibited from conducting advance scouting of opponents.
The NCAA alleged that Stalions participated in the unauthorized in-person observation of 52 matches throughout the 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons, with many involving scheduled adversaries of Michigan. He enlisted Michigan staff personnel, family members, and acquaintances to document sideline signals, according to the NCAA’s investigation, which encompasses visual and photographic documentation of individuals recording from seating locations procured by Stalions or his accomplices.
Across the three-year timeframe, UM amassed a record of 40-3, inclusive of three successive conference championships and the 2023 national title. Nevertheless, within its rejoinder, the institution purports that the sign-acquisition mechanism furnished “minimal relevance to competition,” remained unsubstantiated by NCAA investigators through credible evidence, and should be classified as a minor infraction.
The university and a subset of its coaching staff were regarded as repeat offenders. Two years prior, an autonomous inquiry determined both Harbaugh and Moore to be culpable of recruitment violations during the COVID-19 era. In the context of that matter, Michigan was subjected to a three-year probationary period, and Harbaugh received a four-year show-cause directive.
Arguably, one of the most compelling elements of Michigan’s rejoinder to the NCAA pertained to the informant. The individual responsible for initially disseminating details regarding Stalions’ scheme to the NCAA originated from within its campus. The unnamed source, whose identity has not been divulged by the NCAA, seemingly maintained employment at Michigan, at least at a certain juncture, as implied by the response.
