Latest news with #NCAABylaw11.6.1
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
What is a show-cause? Explaining former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh's NCAA punishment
On August 15, about 22 months after much of the country first learned of the name Connor Stalions, the NCAA announced its long-awaited findings and punishments following its investigation into alleged in-person scouting by the Michigan football program. Per the NCAA's report, it found what it called "overwhelming" evidence of illegal in-person scouting, and punished several figures within the Michigan program at the time of the infractions and the athletic department. The scandal and its potential ramifications have followed the Wolverines since news of the probe was first publicized in October 2023. Much has changed in that time. Michigan won its first national championship since 1997. Head coach Jim Harbaugh left his alma mater to return to the NFL, with Sherrone Moore taking his place. Now, that seldom straightforward saga will be nearing a conclusion. One of the biggest questions heading into the NCAA's announcement wasn't just what kind of punishment awaited the Wolverines' program or how it would affect their coaches and players, but what impact it might have on someone who's now thousands of miles from the school's Ann Arbor campus. Harbaugh is entering his second season as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, a job he left for a few weeks after guiding Michigan to a College Football Playoff championship game victory against Washington in January 2024. Though he wasn't directly implicated in Stalions' in-person scouting operation, which violated NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1 and led to Friday's punishment, Harbaugh presided over the program during that time and wasn't shielded from the NCAA's wrath. In addition to a four-year show cause penalty leveled upon Harbaugh for impermissible contact with recruits and players during the COVID-19 pandemic's dead period, Harbaugh suffered an additional 10-year show-cause for his role in the sign-stealing scandal. With stacking, that means Harbaugh has a 14-year show-cause overall. What, exactly, does that mean for Harbaugh and a potential future at the college level? Here's a closer look at the show cause and what comes with it: Is Jim Harbaugh banned from college football? By receiving the punishment he did for the COVID-era transgressions and his involvement in the Michigan sign-stealing scandal, yes, Harbaugh is banned from the sport, for all intents and purposes, as his show cause includes a one-year suspension, which would serve as a significant deterrent to any school interested in hiring him. Harbaugh's show cause is set for 14 years (four years for the recruiting violations and 10 years for the sign-stealing), meaning that he is effectively outlawed from coaching college football until August 2038, by which point the former Michigan and NFL quarterback will be 74 years old. In its ruling for the recruiting violations, the NCAA said Harbaugh "engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations." Harbaugh dismissed allegations that he failed to cooperate with NCAA investigators over the course of the probe. "The panel noted that Harbaugh's intentional disregard for NCAA legislation and unethical conduct amplified the severity of the case and prompted the panel to classify Harbaugh's case as Level I-Aggravated, with penalties to include a four-year show-cause order. Subsumed in the show-cause order is a one-season suspension for Harbaugh," the NCAA said. In its latest ruling on Friday, August 15, the NCAA wrote: "The underlying violations resulted in a head coach responsibility violation for former head football coach Jim Harbaugh (Harbaugh), and a failure to monitor violation for the institution. Further, several individuals failed to cooperate with the investigation and processing of this case." In Harbaugh's punishment, the NCAA repeatedly referenced his status as a repeat violator and a consistent failure to cooperate with investigative bodies. Thankfully for Harbaugh, he may not have to worry about returning to college football. Last season, he led the Chargers to an 11-6 mark, a six-win improvement from the previous season, and a spot in the NFL playoffs. As an NFL head coach, Harbaugh is 55-25-1. He previously coached the San Francisco 49ers for four seasons, leading them to three NFC championship games and a berth in Super Bowl XLVII. What is a show cause? A show cause is an NCAA penalty primarily reserved for coaches who have been found to have committed major rules violations. The punishment lasts for a specified period of time and is applicable to any NCAA member institution, meaning that if a coach commits NCAA infractions at one school, the show cause they received would apply at another university that's under the NCAA's jurisdiction. In effect, it means a coach is outlawed from coaching at an NCAA university. The measure is meant to prevent a coach from avoiding accountability for their role in rule-breaking. Should a school want to hire a coach serving a show cause penalty, it would have to appear before the NCAA's committee on infractions to explain why it wants to do so. In Harbaugh's case, there are several wrinkles to his show cause that the NCAA outlined when it handed down the initial punishment. If a school wants to hire Harbaugh, it would have to suspend him for the first full season. Additionally, he would be barred from all athletically related activities, including team travel, practice, video study, recruiting and team meetings, at any NCAA institution that employed him. Harbaugh's hardly the first prominent coach to be slapped with a show cause. In football, Jim Tressel received a five-year show cause for his role in the Ohio State tattoo scandal and Jeremy Pruitt got a six-year show cause (which remains active) for a slew of recruiting violations during his ill-fated stint as Tennessee's coach. Two of the four head coaches in last year's men's basketball Final Four had received show causes over the previous 20 years. Houston coach Kelvin Sampson served a five-year show cause for impermissible phone calls to recruits during his short-lived tenure at Indiana while Auburn's Bruce Pearl received a three-year show cause for lying to the NCAA during an investigation over an impermissible recruiting visit to his home while he was at Tennessee. Auburn made the unusual move of hiring Pearl five months before his show cause expired in August 2014, which meant that Pearl was unable to be in contact with recruits during that summer's recruiting period.
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Michigan sign-stealing scandal: NCAA will announce punishments Friday
The scandal has followed the Wolverines since news of it first broke in October 2023 and trailed them during an eventful stretch in the program's long, storied history. Since that October day, Michigan won its first national championship since 1997, watched head coach Jim Harbaugh leave for the NFL and saw a once-anonymous staffer - Connor Stalions - become a nationally recognized figure virtually overnight. REQUIRED READING: The biggest college football quarterback competitions still undecided feature elite teams The NCAA's Committee on Infractions will make a recommendation for a punishment, which Michigan will have the chance to appeal. In January, the Wolverines accused the NCAA of "grossly overreaching" and "wildly overcharging" the program in response to an August 2024 notice of allegations that cited 11 NCAA infractions, including six Level I violations, the most serious offenses in the NCAA rulebook. The university has tried to be proactive in dealing with the potential fallout of the case, suspending head coach Sherrone Moore for two games during the upcoming 2025 season (Weeks 3 and 4 vs Central Michigan and Nebraska, respectively). Moore was Michigan's offensive coordinator during the sign-stealing saga and was alleged to have deleted 52 text messages from Stalions. The Wolverines, the No. 14 team in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, open their season on August 30 against New Mexico. Michigan football sign-stealing allegations In October 2023, in the middle of what would be a national championship-winning season, Michigan football became the subject of an investigation into alleged impermissible advanced, in-person scouting. The probe centered around an operation engineered by former Wolverines analyst Connor Stalions, which involved Michigan staffers or those working on behalf of them attending games of upcoming Wolverines opponents and filming the sideline during the game to record the hand signals used by coaches. Though sign-stealing is widely practiced and isn't technically against NCAA rules, using technology to scout an opponent in person is outlawed, according to NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1. The advantages Michigan would have received from such an operation were immense. "That's huge. There's no other way to say it," a power conference head coach told The Athletic. "That's as big as it gets. It's the biggest advantage in college football, I would say. How does it get any bigger?" Stalions reportedly purchased tickets to 52 games across the country to scout upcoming opponents on the Wolverines' schedule or schools Michigan may be in line to face in the College Football Playoff. In perhaps the most bizarre subplot to an already bizarre story, someone who appeared to be Stallions was spotted on the Central Michigan sideline wearing a Chippewas hat during an August 2023 game at Michigan State. The Wolverines play the Spartans in an annual rivalry game, which Michigan won 49-0 that season. The NCAA was reportedly roped into the case when an outside firm approached it with computer drives containing evidence of illicit scouting that were accessed and maintained by multiple Michigan coaches. Stalions resigned from his position in November 2023 after refusing to cooperate with internal and external investigations. That same month, linebackers coach Chris Partridge was fired after reportedly destroying evidence related to the investigation, a claim Partridge, now an outside linebackers coach with the Seattle Seahawks, has disputed. Then-Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended by the Big Ten for the final three games of the 2023 regular season for what the league said was a violation of the league's sportsmanship policy. Even without Harbaugh on the sidelines, and with then-offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore serving as the interim head coach, the Wolverines won each of the three games, including victories against top-10 Penn State and Ohio State teams.
Mint
2 days ago
- Sport
- Mint
NCAA to announce Michigan Football sign-stealing scandal findings and punishments; check details
The Michigan Wolverines' sign-stealing scandal that has gripped college football since October 2023 is nearing its conclusion. The NCAA has confirmed it will release its findings and punishments on Friday (August 15). This announcement marks the end of a nearly two-year investigation into allegations of impermissible in-person scouting orchestrated by former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions. The controversy erupted in October 2023, during Michigan's national championship-winning season. The NCAA launched an investigation into claims that Michigan engaged in illegal advanced scouting, focusing on a scheme led by Connor Stalions, a low-level recruiting analyst. Stalions allegedly organized a network to attend games of future opponents, filming their sideline signals to decode play calls. Notably, sign-stealing itself is not against NCAA rules. However, NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1 prohibits in-person scouting of opponents using electronic equipment, making this operation a serious violation. Reports indicate Stalions purchased tickets to 52 games across the country, targeting both scheduled opponents and potential College Football Playoff matchups. The scandal's most peculiar twist came when someone resembling Stalions was spotted on Central Michigan's sideline during a 2023 game against Michigan State, a rival of Michigan. The scandal had significant repercussions for Michigan's coaching staff. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan's head coach during the 2023 season, was suspended for the final three games of the regular season by the Big Ten for violating its sportsmanship policy. Despite his absence, Michigan, led by interim coach Sherrone Moore, secured victories against top-10 teams Penn State and Ohio State, ultimately winning the national championship. Harbaugh, now with the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers, faces a four-year show-cause penalty from a separate NCAA case involving recruiting violations and could face further sanctions. Sherrone Moore, now Michigan's head coach, is also implicated for allegedly deleting 52 text messages with Stalions, though he cooperated by turning over his phone to the NCAA. Michigan proactively suspended Moore for two games in the 2025 season (Weeks 3 and 4 against Central Michigan and Nebraska) to mitigate potential NCAA penalties. Additionally, linebackers coach Chris Partridge was fired in November 2023 for reportedly destroying evidence, a claim he disputes. The NCAA's August 2024 notice of allegations cited 11 infractions, including six Level I violations, the most severe in its rulebook. These charges accuse Michigan of failing to monitor its football program and engaging in impermissible scouting. Michigan's response, filed in January 2025, called the NCAA's claims 'grossly overreaching' and argued that much of Stalions' operation used legal methods, with only one game attended by him personally. The university contends the violations should be classified as Level II, not Level I, and maintains that the sign-stealing provided minimal competitive advantage. The NCAA's Committee on Infractions will recommend penalties, which Michigan can appeal. Possible sanctions include fines, scholarship reductions, or a postseason ban. Moreover, the NCAA could impose additional suspensions, particularly for Moore, or issue show-cause penalties for former staff like Harbaugh and Stalions. The Wolverines, ranked No. 14 in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, face a critical 2025 season starting August 30 against New Mexico. The resolution of this case will allow the program to move forward, but the penalties could impact recruiting and the morale of the team.
