Latest news with #CommitteeonInfractions
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
The full scope of Michigan football's NCAA violations and punishment from 'signgate'
After nearly two years, lots of rivalry and media banter, Michigan football finally learned its fate upon the conclusion of the NCAA investigation into 'signgate' as well as the subsequent Committee on Infractions hearing. The COI released its findings and subsequent punishment of the program, Connor Stalions, Jim Harbaugh, and Denard Robinson on Friday. The Wolverines were charged with 11 infractions, including six Level I violations. Ultimately, they were found to have violated four Level I infractions and four Level II infractions, according to the 'aggravating factor' section in the release. First, Bylaw 19.12.3.1-(a), Multiple Level I and/or Level II violations, applies because Michiganis responsible for four Level I violations and four Level II violations. The panel determined that three of the Level I violations were on Stalions and considered his actions to be premeditated. Harbaugh was cited for two Level I violations (these were nested within the same categories, which accounts for the number disparity of four and four). The charges against Chris Partridge were dropped. Here is what the NCAA determined, with the indented quote falling within the category immediately above. During the 2021, 2022 and 2023 football seasons, Stalions and members of the Michigan footballprogram violated the principles of honesty and sportsmanship when Stalions conducted and/ordirected and arranged for other individuals to conduct 56 instances of off-campus, in-personscouting of 13 future regular season opponents across 52 contests. This violation is Level I. (...) In the spring and summer of 2023, Clinkscale and Robinson provided impermissible recruitinginducements to prospect 1 and his parents in the form of gear, transportation and a meal.22Additionally, Clinkscale attempted to assist prospect 2 with verifying his Instagram account anddonated $100 to the charity golf outing of the father of prospect 3. These violations are Level II. (...) Between January 18 and April 25, 2023, Minter and Partridge sent a total of nearly 100 textmessages to a prospect prior to the permissible date. This violation is Level II. (...) As a result of the underlying scouting and recruiting violations, Harbaugh violated the principlesof head coach responsibility. This violation is Level I. (...) At various times throughout this investigation, Stalions, Harbaugh, Moore and Robinson eachfailed to cooperate under Bylaw 19. Each of those violations is Level I, except for Moore's failureto cooperate, which is Level II. (...) From the fall of 2021 into the fall of 2023, Michigan failed to monitor its football program. Theviolation is Level II. (...) The NOA alleged additional violations for Partridge, including: (1) arranging and conductingimpermissible tryouts with prospects; (2) providing an impermissible inducement to a prospect;and (3) failing to cooperate during and after his employment at Michigan. The recruitingallegations were presented as Level II. The failure to cooperate allegations were presented asLevel I. Partridge disputed each of the allegations. The panel concludes that the case record doesnot demonstrate that these violations occurred. With those charges now considered violations, here is what the NCAA is penalizing Michigan with: The recruiting restrictions and fine are likely what will hit Michigan football the hardest. Sherrone Moore's punishment does not appear to affect game week -- a change from recent NCAA restrictions to suspended coaches, which prohibited them from the entire week. But Moore, like Jim Harbaugh in 2023, will not be able to be in the stadium, though should be able to work with the team during the preparation for said game. As noted, Harbaugh and Stalions both have one-year suspensions should a team hire them, despite their show-causes. Moore will be able to persist coaching with his two-year show-cause, but it will put added scrutiny on his actions in that time. Of course, the Wolverines will be under a four-year probation anyhow. Unlike what many had expected, there were no postseason bans (though Michigan is penalized financially in the postseason for the next two years), and there is no vacation of anything that happened from 2021-23.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Michigan sign-stealing punishment: NCAA hammers Wolverines with massive fine, additional suspension for Sherrone Moore
At long last, nearly two years after its initial discovery, the Michigan sign-stealing decision is in. In a document sent to the school on Friday, the NCAA's Committee on Infractions sanctioned the Wolverines with the following penalties, according to sources: • Four years probation• $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 season.• 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.• 14-week prohibition on recruiting communications in the football program during the probation period. The committee also slapped current head coach Sherrone Moore with an additional game suspension (on top of the two already imposed by Michigan). The committee hammered former coach Jim Harbaugh with a 10-year show-cause penalty and hit Connor Stalions, the purported ringleader of the sign-stealing scheme, with a 8-year show-case. A show-cause effectively prevents a person from coaching in college for the duration of the penalties are expected to become public with the full release of the penalties to come at noon ET, with an NCAA press conference at 1 p.m. ET. The Big Ten, alerted by the NCAA of its active investigation in the midst of the 2023 season, suspended Harbaugh for the final three games of that regular season. Michigan announced this spring a two-game suspension for Moore. It is suspending him for the third and fourth games of the season against Central Michigan and at Nebraska. The third additional game suspension, handed down by the NCAA on Friday, will be served in 2026. Moore and the Wolverines begin the season ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press preseason poll. They kick off the season against New Mexico before traveling to Oklahoma for a Big Ten-SEC showdown on Sept. 9. Meanwhile, Harbaugh is beginning his second season as head coach for the Los Angeles Chargers. Stalions has spent time coaching on the high school level. Stalions appeared at Michigan's hearing before the NCAA Committee on Infractions in June. He provided witness testimony during the two-day ordeal, even growing emotional to the point of tears while speaking about the impact of the investigation on his potential coaching career. Those present at the hearing spoke to Yahoo Sports under condition of anonymity. According to the NCAA's investigation, Stalions, a lifelong Michigan fan and graduate of Navy, operated an elaborate, multiyear system in which he bought tickets to games involving future Michigan opponents and then had associates — as many as 65 — attend games to video a team's play-call signals. Last summer, after a 10-month investigation, the NCAA formally charged Michigan with 11 allegations, six of those deemed Level I. Most notably, Moore deleted 52 texts from Stalions the same day that Yahoo Sports first unearthed news of the scandal. In a response to the NCAA in January, obtained by Yahoo Sports, the school vigorously defended its coach, describing the texts as 'innocuous and not material to the investigation.' In fact, in that 137-page response, the university refuted many of the alleged rules violations and accused the NCAA of 'grossly overreaching' and 'wildly overcharging' the program without credible evidence that other staff members knew of Stalions' illegal in-person scouting system — the central question in a case that gripped all of the college sports world as it unfolded in 2023. All sign stealing is not against NCAA rules. For instance, staff members can steal an opponent's signals during games and from television or replay video. However, in a longtime NCAA cost-containment rule, schools are not permitted to scout opponents in advance. The NCAA accused Stalions of engaging in in-person scouting of 52 games over the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons, many of them involving scheduled opponents of Michigan. He used Michigan staff members, family and friends to record sideline signals, according to the NCAA's investigation, which features video and photograph evidence of people videoing from seats that Stalions or accomplices purchased. Over the three-year stretch, UM went 40-3 with three consecutive conference championships and the 2023 national title. However, in its response, the school purports that the sign-stealing system offered 'minimal relevance to competition,' was not credibly proven by NCAA investigators and should be treated as a minor violation. The university and several of its coaches were considered repeat offenders. Two years ago, a separate investigation found both Harbaugh and Moore guilty of COVID-era recruiting violations. In that case, Michigan was placed on three years probation, and Harbaugh received a four-year show-cause order. Most interesting, perhaps, in Michigan's response to the NCAA was a note about the tipster. The person who originally provided information to the NCAA about the Stalions' scheme derived from its own campus. The unnamed source, which the NCAA has not disclosed, appears to have worked at Michigan, at least at one point, according to the response. This story will be updated as it develops.
New York Times
13-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
What's next in the NCAA case against Michigan, Connor Stalions? Enough to teach a class on
Each year, students in Dan Matheson's class at the University of Iowa compete in an intramural tournament designed to simulate what happens in an NCAA infractions hearing. Matheson provides a mock case file inspired by real events and students form teams to argue each side of the case, playing the role of the NCAA's enforcement staff or the school's defense counsel. Advertisement This year, Matheson chose a case ripped straight from the headlines: Michigan's sign-stealing investigation, which appears on track for a real-life hearing later this year. Matheson hasn't seen the actual case file, but he created a facsimile that included photos, testimony and other evidence of the sort the NCAA might use to make its case. 'That was just a perfect case in terms of capturing students' attention,' said Matheson, a former associate director of enforcement at the NCAA and the director of the Sport and Recreation Management program at Iowa. The Michigan sign-stealing investigation has commanded the public's attention since news of the scandal broke in October 2023. More than a year later, Michigan and the NCAA are bracing for a confrontation in front of the Committee on Infractions, which will rule on allegations that analyst Connor Stalions broke NCAA rules by coordinating an in-person scouting scheme to collect video footage of opponents' signals. GO DEEPER Emails reveal nixed hiring of Connor Stalions, ex-Michigan staffer accused of sign-stealing Michigan has yet to fulfill an open-records request made by The Athletic for the NCAA's notice of allegations, which was delivered in August, or an amended version issued in November. The full scope of the NCAA's case has not been made public, though Yahoo reported last month that Michigan faces 11 alleged violations, including a 'failure to monitor' charge levied against the institution. Michigan took issue with several of those charges in a response filed last month, obtained in part by Yahoo. The school cited the 'sensational public narrative' created by the case and expressed concern about the NCAA's reliance on an anonymous whistleblower, as confirmed by sources briefed on the school's response. The origin of the NCAA's investigation remains murky, but Michigan is reportedly seeking a pre-hearing conference to discuss the role of the anonymous whistleblower in building the NCAA's case. Lawyers representing Stalions have also raised questions about how information used to build the NCAA's case was obtained, suggesting that Stalions could have been the victim of a computer hack. Advertisement Saquandra Heath, associate director of communications for the NCAA, said NCAA legislation permits the use of anonymous sources during investigations and 'expressly protects their identities from other parties and the Committee on Infractions.' However, information obtained via an anonymous source cannot be used as the basis for an allegation. 'All information supporting an allegation must come from an identified source,' Heath wrote in an email. Matheson said it's common for the NCAA's enforcement staff to receive tips from anonymous whistleblowers who aren't willing to be identified. In some cases, that information leads to evidence that can be used to substantiate an allegation, such as physical documents or on-the-record testimony. Other times it doesn't, and the investigation is closed. Matheson wasn't surprised that Michigan is raising questions about the role of an anonymous source but said those issues tend to be resolved in the NCAA's favor. 'It wasn't uncommon in a case like this for a school to raise questions about the motive of the source (and say), 'This person had an ax to grind, they left the team under bad circumstances or they were fired from their position and were a disgruntled former employee,' or whatever the case might be,' Matheson said. 'It's understandable how a school may feel they're being attacked unfairly by somebody who may be out to get them, but ultimately, that's not going to factor into the committee's decision.' Stalions, who resigned in 2023 and now coaches high school football in the Detroit area, is accused of breaking NCAA rules that ban in-person scouting by arranging for friends and acquaintances to attend more than 50 games involving Michigan's future opponents. He's also accused of appearing in disguise on the Central Michigan sideline for a 2023 game against Michigan State, which would be a further violation of the in-person scouting rule. GO DEEPER Connor Stalions addresses Central Michigan sideline photos for first time A key issue in the case, Matheson said, will be the NCAA's ability to link tickets purchased by Stalions to verifiable instances of impermissible scouting. 'I could see that being a vigorous debate within the case where Michigan would at least be trying to bring down the number of confirmed impermissible scouting instances because that could help mitigate some of their damages,' Matheson said. 'The penalties on the back end could be brought down severely if the Committee on Infractions chooses to narrowly view which instances of impermissible scouting will be counted as a violation.' Advertisement The sign-stealing investigation created ancillary issues for Michigan, including an allegation that coach Sherrone Moore deleted text messages with Stalions shortly after the investigation became public. The messages were recovered and submitted to the NCAA, and Moore has said he looks forward to them being released publicly. Yahoo, citing Michigan's response, reported that Moore told school officials he deleted the messages out of anger and frustration because he didn't want Stalions to receive credit for the team's accomplishments. Complicating matters for Michigan is the so-called 'Burgergate' investigation that resulted in three years of probation for Michigan and a four-year show cause order for former coach Jim Harbaugh. In that case, which also produced a one-game suspension for Moore, the Committee on Infractions ruled that Harbaugh had impermissible contact with recruits during the COVID-19 dead period. GO DEEPER Did Jim Harbaugh vs. the NCAA really start with a burger? Our quest for answers at Michigan Michigan could be subject to tougher sanctions if the school is found to be a repeat offender, though it's unclear what those penalties might be. Tennessee, which faced 18 Level I charges for recruiting violations that occurred under former coach Jeremy Pruitt, was fined $8 million but avoided a postseason ban in a case decided in 2023. It's impossible to know what the NCAA will decide in Michigan's case. In Matheson's tournament, however, the verdict is already in. Matheson doubts the mock hearing will predict what happens in the real one — the case file was a facsimile, after all — but the outcome might interest a few people in Ann Arbor. 'In the final hearing, the winning side was actually the students representing Michigan,' he said.
