Michigan scandal timeline: Detailing Wolverines' NCAA run-ins late in Jim Harbaugh tenure
In each of Harbaugh's final three seasons, the Wolverines won the Big Ten and made the College Football Playoff. They ended an agonizingly long losing streak to rival Ohio State, beating the Buckeyes in each of Harbaugh's final three years in Ann Arbor. In what would be his final act as Michigan's coach, Harbaugh helped lead the Wolverines to the College Football Playoff national championship at the end of the 2023 season, giving Michigan its first national title since 1997.
At a certain point, though, Harbaugh's Wolverines found themselves in the headlines just as much for their off-field transgressions as their on-field triumphs.
REQUIRED READING: Did Jim Harbaugh know about Michigan sign stealing? NCAA: 'Incomplete'
The final stretch of Harbaugh's Michigan tenure was mired in controversy, with the football program he had built into a behemoth at the center of multiple NCAA scandals.
First, there was an NCAA investigation centered around impermissible contact Harbaugh had with recruits and players while access to them was limited during the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA found that Harbaugh "engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations' and it handed him a four-year show cause.
What followed was even more seismic. In October 2023, news first broke that the Wolverines were being investigated for illegal in-person scouting of future opponents, a scheme centered around previously little-known Michigan staffer Connor Stalions. After nearly two full and seldom uninteresting years, that saga came to a close on Aug. 15, with the NCAA slapping the Wolverines with what's projected to be a $30 million fine, suspending head coach Sherrone Moore for one game during the 2026 season, and handing Harbaugh and Stalions show causes of 10 and eight years, respectively.
With that turbulent, albeit incredibly successful, stretch in Michigan's long and storied history nearing its end, pending an appeal of the ruling from Michigan, here's a look back at some of the major events of the final years of Harbaugh's tenure:
REQUIRED READING: University of Michigan claps back at NCAA, will appeal sign-stealing punishment
Michigan football scandals timeline
Jan. 5, 2023: Michigan receives a draft of an NCAA notice of allegations in which the organization details allegations of impermissible contact with recruits during a dead period in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as an off-field analyst being involved in on-field coaching. At the time, it is reported that Harbaugh met with recruits and bought them hamburgers at the Brown Jug, a popular restaurant near the school's Ann Arbor campus.
Jan. 20, 2023: Michigan co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss is fired after the university said he failed to attend a meeting to discuss whether he had received unauthorized access to computer accounts assigned to other people in December 2022. University police had confirmed there was an active investigation into potential computer crimes at Michigan's football facility, Schembechler Hall.
May 20, 2023: Three days after he was brought on as Michigan's assistant director of football recruiting, Glenn "Shemy" Schembechler, the son of legendary Wolverines coach Bo Schembechler, resigns after it was revealed he had liked a series of offensive Twitter posts, including from accounts that contended that slavery and Jim Crow segregation had positive effects on Black people and families.
Aug. 12, 2023: The NCAA takes the unusual step of publicly commenting on an ongoing investigation, with vice president of hearing operations Derrick Crawford noting in a statement that "The Michigan infractions case is related to impermissible on and off-campus recruiting during the COVID-19 dead period and impermissible coaching activities — not a cheeseburger.'
Aug. 21, 2023: Michigan suspends Harbaugh for the first three games of the upcoming season. The Wolverines go 3-0 in those contests, defeating East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green with four different head coaches.
Oct. 18, 2023: The NCAA notifies Michigan and the Big Ten that it has received allegations that the Wolverines were involved in a sign-stealing operation that involved advanced, in-person scouting that is illegal under NCAA rules. Harbaugh denied being a part of the scheme or having knowledge of it. One day later, it is revealed that the probe is centered around Michigan off-field analyst Connor Stalions, who reportedly purchased tickets in his own name to games at 12 different Big Ten schools in order to have people film the signals used by coaches of upcoming Wolverines opponents.
Oct. 26, 2023: Michigan confirms the FBI has joined the investigation into Weiss' unauthorized access into computer accounts.
Oct. 31, 2023: Central Michigan announces it's investigating photographs of a man who resembles Stalions, wearing sunglasses and a Chippewas hat, standing on the team's sideline for its game earlier that season against Michigan State.
Nov. 3, 2023: Stalions resigns from his position at Michigan, noting in a statement to The Athletic that he did 'not want to be a distraction.'
Nov. 10, 2023: The Big Ten suspends Harbaugh for the final three games of the regular season, citing a violation of the league's sportsmanship policy. Michigan files a temporary restraining order, but eventually drops the case and accepts the punishment. With offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore serving as the interim head coach, the Wolverines go 3-0 in those games, highlighted by wins against top-10 Penn State and Ohio State teams.
Nov. 17, 2023: Linebackers coach Chris Partridge is fired by the school after he allegedly destroyed evidence on a computer related to the sign-stealing scandal. Partridge, now an assistant coach with the Seattle Seahawks, denies the claim.
Jan. 8, 2024: Michigan defeats Washington 34-13 in the championship game of the College Football Playoff, giving the Wolverines their first national title since 1997. Harbaugh says after the game that "We stood strong and tall because we knew we were innocent' when asked about the ongoing investigations into his program.
Jan. 24, 2024: Harbaugh leaves Michigan after nine seasons to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. Two days later, Moore is elevated to head coach.
March 16, 2024: Newly hired defensive line coach Greg Scruggs is arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated in Ann Arbor, with a blood alcohol level that's double the legal limit. He resigns five days later.
April 15, 2024: Michigan recruiting staffer and former star quarterback Denard Robinson is arrested after being involved in a single-car crash at 3 a.m. in Ann Arbor while intoxicated. He's suspended and one month later, the university confirms he's no longer with the program.
Aug. 5, 2024: A leaked notice of allegations from the NCAA states that Moore deleted a thread of 52 text messages with Stalions the same day reports first surfaced about the sign-stealing operation. Two days later, Harbaugh is given a one-year suspension and a four-year show cause by the NCAA for his role in the COVID recruiting violations.
March 20, 2025: Weiss is indicted by the FBI on 14 counts of unauthorized access and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft. According to the indictment, Weiss hacked into university computer systems and accessed personal data of over 3,000 Michigan athletes, most of whom were women. The next day, Weiss is sued by two former Michigan athletes, who allege he accessed their private information for his personal use. At least 74 women have joined the lawsuit.
May 5, 2025: As part of a self-imposed sanction, Michigan suspends Moore for two games for the upcoming football season – a Week 3 matchup against Central Michigan and a Week 4 game against Nebraska.
June 27, 2025: Harbaugh and former Michigan president Santa Ono are among the 48 people from the university added to the lawsuit against Weiss. Plaintiffs allege that the school knew about Weiss hacking into computer systems, but still allowed him to coach in the Wolverines' semifinal loss to TCU in the College Football Playoff at the end of the 2022 season.
July 29, 2025: Central Michigan receives a notice of allegations from the NCAA over its role in Stalions' sign-stealing scheme.
Aug. 15, 2025: The NCAA issues its findings in the Michigan in-person scouting case, including a 10-year show-cause for Harbaugh, eight years for Stalions, three years for Robinson and two years for Moore. Moore is also suspended for a game. Michigan announces hours later it will appeal the ruling.
Aug. 15, 2025: The NCAA's finding repeatedly reference Harbaugh's lack of cooperation in the investigation into Michigan and his status as a repeat offender. According to the NCAA in a section subtitled "Head coach responsibility:"
"The scouting scheme and recruiting violations in the football program demonstrate that Harbaugh violated the principles of head coach responsibility. Harbaugh did not embrace or enforce a culture of compliance during his tenure, and his program had a contentious relationship with Michigan's compliance office, leading coaches and staff to disregard NCAA rules.
"For the scouting violations that occurred during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Harbaugh failed to demonstrate that he adequately promoted compliance or monitored his program. Harbaugh is also automatically responsible for the scouting and recruiting violations that occurred after Jan. 1, 2023. "
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