NCAA hits Michigan with numerous penalties for sign-stealing scandal

The bill has finally come due in the Michigan sign-stealing scandal, with the NCAA handing out its punishment Friday after a lengthy investigation found "overwhelming evidence" of scouting and recruiting violations. Michigan later announced it would appeal the ruling.

The infractions committee handed former coach Jim Harbaugh a 10-year show-cause penalty banning him from all athletically related activities, while ex-analyst Connor Stalions got an eight-year show-cause order with the same restrictions. Current Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore will be suspended three total games after the school initially self-imposed a two-game ban.

The school was also put on four years probation and hit with a number of other penalties:

• A $50,000 fine, plus 10% of the budget for the football program
• A fine equivalent to the anticipated loss of all postseason competition revenue sharing associated with the 2025 and 2026 football seasons
• A fine equivalent to the cost of 10% of the scholarships awarded in Michigan's football program for the 2025-26 academic year
• A 25% reduction in football official visits during the 2025-26 season
• A 14-week prohibition on recruiting communications in the football program during the probation period

"The panel determined that a postseason ban would unfairly penalize student-athletes for the actions of coaches and staff who are no longer associated with the Michigan football program," the NCAA said in its statement.

"Thus, the panel determined a more appropriate penalty is an offsetting financial penalty instead of a two-year postseason ban."

The NCAA's investigation began in early 2023 after allegations that Stalions had run an in-person sign-stealing operation for Michigan. The program suspended the former defensive analyst, who later resigned.

The investigation determined Stalions orchestrated an "impermissible scouting scheme" from 2021-23, directing individuals to conduct off-campus, in-person scouting of the Wolverines' future regular-season opponents 56 different times.

Stalions' conduct was ultimately found to be a collective Level I violation of the NCAA's impermissible scouting rule. The former Michigan staffer admitted to spending almost $35,000 on tickets to opponents' games in 2022 alone.

He instructed an intern to "clear out" evidence related to the case, including emails, phones, and text messages. Stalions also told the NCAA that he threw his phone and the film he acquired from the sign-stealing operation into a pond. The NCAA said, "In short, Stalions' multiple and repeated failures to cooperate are some of the worst the (infractions committee) has ever seen."

Moore was the offensive coordinator for Michigan in 2023 before replacing Harbaugh as head coach the following season. He'll serve a two-game suspension from Week 3-4 in 2025 and a one-game ban to begin the 2026 season for his failure to cooperate, a Level II violation. He also received a two-year show-cause order that doesn't restrict his activities beyond the suspension.

Moore erased a 52-message text thread with Stalions from his personal phone. He also deleted a single text from his school-issued phone that was part of a thread referencing Stalions' standing by Moore during a game.

Harbaugh was suspended for the final three games of the 2023 regular season by the Big Ten as part of the conference's investigation. Michigan went on to win the national championship, and Harbaugh departed to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers weeks later.

The committee determined Harbaugh violated the principles of head coach responsibility, failed to cooperate with the investigation, and failed to monitor Michigan's football program. His show-cause order won't kick in until August 2028 at the end of a previously imposed four-year show-cause order.

A statement from Michigan said: "In a number of instances the decision makes fundamental errors in interpreting NCAA bylaws; and it includes a number of conclusions that are directly contrary to the evidence - or lack of evidence - in the record. We will appeal this decision to ensure a fair result, and we will consider all other options."

Michigan is coming off an 8-5 season in Moore's first year as head coach. The Wolverines kick off the 2025 campaign against New Mexico on Aug. 30.