Michigan will forfeit postseason revenue for the next two seasons, and head coach Sherrone Moore will be suspended for three games as punishment for its sign-stealing scandal, but the program will not face a postseason ban or be forced to vacate wins.
The full ruling was released Friday by the NCAA Committee on Infractions. The COI found “overwhelming evidence” that Michigan engaged in an impermissible scouting scheme but elected not to impose a postseason ban to avoid punishing players on Michigan’s roster.
Instead, Michigan will forfeit postseason revenue for the next two seasons and pay a fine equivalent to 10 percent of the program’s budget.
Former coach Jim Harbaugh, now coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, received a 10-year show-cause order that will take effect after the four-year show cause he received in a previous case. Together, the penalties would effectively prevent Harbaugh from returning to college football until 2038.
Moore received a two-year show-cause order that includes a total suspension of three games. In addition to a two-game school-imposed suspension in Week 3 and Week 4 of this season, Moore would be suspended for the first game of the 2026 season, currently scheduled to be played in Germany against Western Michigan.
Connor Stalions, the former staffer at the center of the sign-stealing scheme, received an eight-year show cause that bans him from participating in any athletically related activities at an NCAA school.
In a statement, Stalions’ lawyer, Brad Beckworth, said Stalions’ punishment was the result of a “rigged investigation” about a “completely irrelevant rule.”
“It is our opinion that the NCAA decided the penalties for Connor back in the fall of 2023, when they went public about their investigation a few days after it started,” Beckworth said.
What’s the backstory?
Stalions is accused of collecting video footage of opposing teams’ signals shot from the stands by people he recruited to participate in the scheme. The allegations span dozens of games involving other Big Ten teams and potential postseason opponents in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Other teams saw the scheme as a clear-cut violation of a rule that bans in-person scouting of future opponents. However, Stalions’ lawyer has argued he didn’t violate the letter of the law because he wasn’t personally scouting the games.
The allegations came to light in October 2023, with Michigan undefeated and aiming for a national championship. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, acting on information from the NCAA, suspended Harbaugh for three games, citing violations of the league’s sportsmanship policy. Harbaugh returned to coach Michigan to victories in the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff before leaving to coach the Chargers. Petitti provided a letter to the Committee on Infractions in support of Michigan and reportedly argued that no further sanctions were needed.
The sign-stealing scandal left many loose threads and unanswered questions. The Washington Post reported in 2023 that the NCAA investigation began when an “outside investigative firm” approached the NCAA with evidence of the scheme, including schedules and budgets obtained from computer drives used by Michigan coaches. The identity of that firm has not been revealed. Michigan has also raised concerns with the NCAA about the use of an anonymous source to substantiate the NCAA’s allegations.
In addition to the Michigan case, the NCAA is investigating how Stalions gained access to the Central Michigan sideline for a game against Michigan State in 2023. Central Michigan said in a statement it is “working with the NCAA toward a negotiated resolution” and hopes to “bring our matter to a fair conclusion soon.”
Who is Connor Stalions?
Stalions, a native of Lake Orion, Mich., was a Michigan superfan who followed the Wolverines around the country and dreamed of landing a job on the coaching staff. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy, where he volunteered with the football program, and was hired at Michigan in 2022 after a stint in the Marines.
Stalions specialized in decoding signals, a practice that is not against the rules. He recently posted on social media that he knew “almost every signal” in seven games during his time at Michigan, including College Football Playoff losses to Georgia in 2021 and TCU in 2022.
Stalions became a minor celebrity as a result of the scandal, appearing in a Netflix documentary called “Sign Stealer” that premiered in 2024. His attempts to land a high school coaching job culminated with a brief stint calling plays for Belleville High School and star quarterback Bryce Underwood, who signed with Michigan as the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2025.
According to a source briefed on the hearing, Stalions was “very contrite” when he appeared in front of the NCAA Committee on Infractions in June. His lawyer, Brad Beckworth, struck a more defiant tone in 2024, describing the investigation as a “witch hunt” and calling Stalions a “scapegoat in the NCAA’s ongoing quest to show that it has a purpose in today’s sports world.”
Friday’s ruling from the NCAA closes an unprecedented two-year saga that blossomed while a defiant Harbaugh led his Wolverines on a national championship run, capturing the attention of the college football world along the way.
(Photo of Connor Stalions standing on the sideline next to Jim Harbaugh: Columbus Dispatch / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)