Michigan handed multimillion-dollar fine and head coach Sherrone Moore given additional suspension for sign-stealing scandal
Ben Morse, Jill Martin | Aug 15, 2025 | 5:53 PM ETThe Michigan Wolverines football program has been handed a multimillion-dollar penalty and head coach Sherrone Moore has been given an additional suspension as part of a sign-sealing scandal involving former Michigan football staffer Connor Stalions, the NCAA said on Friday.
The NCAA infractions panel opted not to impose a multi-year postseason ban as part of the punishment, citing it would “unfairly penalize student-athletes for the actions of coaches and staff who are no longer associated with the Michigan football program,” per a press release from the NCAA. The panel instead decided a financial penalty was more appropriate.
In a statement, the University of Michigan said it disputes the findings of the investigation and plans to appeal the ruling.
In the NCAA’s statement on their decision, they said the majority of the penalties come as a result of the “impermissible scouting scheme” orchestrated by Stalions, who worked as a member of then-head coach Jim Harbaugh’s staff. Stalions was levied with an 8-year show-cause order, restricting him from all athletically related activities during that period. . .
. . . Across three seasons, Stalions “directed and arranged for individuals to conduct off-campus, in-person scouting of Michigan’s future regular-season opponents,” a network referred to as the “KGB.”
According to the NCAA, Stalions purchased tickets and transferred them to those individuals who “filmed the signal callers on the future opponents’ sidelines and then provided that film to Stalions.”
Through that film, Stalions was able to decipher the signals of Michigan’s opponents.
The NCAA said that Stalions spent “significant resources” on the scheme, including nearly $35,000 on tickets in 2022. The investigation found that 56 instances of off-campus, in-person scouting of 13 future opponents took place.
The NCAA added that “the true scope and scale of the scheme – including the competitive advantage it conferred – will never be known due to individuals’ intentional destruction and withholding of materials and information.” . . .
. . . The NCAA explained that Moore’s penalty was handed out because of a “failure to cooperate violation,” adding that he “deleted his entire 52-message text thread with Stalions off his personal phone and deleted from his school-issued phone a single text that was part of a broader thread that referenced Stalions standing by Moore during a game and staff.”
Stalions was also found to have failed to cooperate with the investigation. He told an intern to “clear out” emails, texts, photos and videos related to the scheme and he admitted to throwing a phone into a pond to dispose of evidence.
“In short, Stalions’ multiple and repeated failures to cooperate are some of the worst the COI has ever seen,” the NCAA infractions panel said.
The ruling said that Harbaugh’s failure to provide the required records when asked and failing to attend an interview with staff led to his punishment. . .
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/15/sport/football-ncaa-michigan-wolverines-sign-stealing
The coverup is even worse than the infraction. Yet Michigan vacates no wins. They keep their national championship and all the proceeds that came with it. And all that happens is that the current coach gets a three-game suspension? The NCAA is just as corrupt as the University of Michigan.
