Less than one week after it was first reported that the NCAA was investigating Michigan for an alleged sign-stealing scheme, new details about how the investigation came to be are emerging.
According to The Washington Post, the probe into the Wolverines’ program came after “an outside investigative firm approached the NCAA with documents and videos the firm said it had obtained from computer drives maintained and accessed by multiple Michigan coaches, according to two people familiar with the matter, evidence that suggests the scandal’s impact could broaden beyond the suspension of one low-level assistant.” It remains unclear who hired the outside firm that approached the NCAA.
The scandal reportedly centers on a recruiting staffer named Connor Stalions, who is accused of orchestrating a sign-stealing scheme that involved the Michigan program obtain upcoming opponents’ signals by filming their sidelines at games not involving the Wolverines. While sign-stealing is not illegal, in-person scouting of upcoming opponents has been outlawed by the NCAA since 1994.
While much of the focus since the investigation was first made public has been on Stalions, who has since been suspended with pay, The Washington Post‘s report implies that the scheme was more widespread. Per the Post:
Among the pieces of evidence the firm presented, these people said, was a detailed schedule of Michigan’s planned sign-stealing travel for the rest of this season, listing opponents’ schedules, which games Michigan scouts would attend, and how much money was budgeted for travel and tickets to scout each team.
The opponents targeted the most on this schedule, these people said, were not surprising. Atop the list was Ohio State, Michigan’s top rival in the Big Ten, and scouts planned to attend as many as eight games, costing more than $3,000 in travel and tickets. Next on the list was Georgia, a potential Michigan opponent in the College Football Playoff, with four or five games scheduled for in-person scouting and video-recording, also costing more than $3,000 in travel and tickets.
In total, these people said, Michigan’s sign-stealing operation expected to spend more than $15,000 this season sending scouts to more than 40 games played by 10 opponents. According to the university’s public salary disclosure records, Stalions, listed as an administrative specialist in the athletics department, made $55,000 in 2022.
The report also states “the outside firm told the NCAA, cellphone videos depicting the coaching staffs from these games were uploaded to a computer drive maintained and accessed by Stalions as well as several other Michigan assistants and coaches.”
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has denied any knowledge of the alleged scheme. The second-ranked Wolverines will return to action on Nov. 4 when they face Purdue.
