Michigan to fight NCAA probe into sign stealing: report
![Michigan is challenging the NCAA on its sign-stealing case. Michigan is challenging the NCAA on its sign-stealing case.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3013,h_1694,x_698,y_20/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/college_football_hq/01jjse45vkm4bmhsek04.jpg)
Michigan football will fight back against the NCAA’s investigation into the program over alleged sign stealing with a formal response to the body, according to Yahoo Sports.
Michigan has accused the NCAA of “grossly overreaching” and “wildly overcharging” the school despite a lack of perceived evidence against it, according to documents seen by Yahoo.
The school received a formal notice of allegations in the case in August 2024 that claimed several Level I violations surrounding an alleged scheme to steal football signals from opponents that was said to be led by former analyst Connor Stalions.
Michigan faced Level I charges for a pattern of noncompliance along with Stalions, former head coach Jim Harbaugh, and two other UM football assistants.
The school said that out of 52 games involving Michigan opponents that Stalions was alleged to have improperly scouted, only one was attended by Stalions himself.
Eight other games were attended by then-Michigan football staffers and others attended by friends and family, which is not an NCAA violation itself.
Michigan alleged that most of Stalions’ sign acquisition efforts were achieved by legal methods, and not in a way that would have given the team an unfair advantage.
As such, Michigan asked the NCAA to treat most of the infractions as Level II, and not the more serious Level I claims.
Michigan also said that the alleged whistleblower to the sign-stealing scheme was a former employee of the university, and claims that the NCAA should not be permitted to use information from anonymous sources in their investigations.
The school also provided an explanation as to why coach Sherrone Moore deleted text messages involving Stalions on the day the investigation went public.
Moore said he deleted 52 text messages with Stalions out of frustration as he believed that Stalions’ violations would take credit away from Michigan’s national championship run.
The messages were eventually recovered.
Michigan was previously given three years or probation after another NCAA investigation into the school concerning illicit football recruiting violations during the Covid-19 pandemic dead period.
Because of that case, many of those involved in the sign-stealing case are considered second-time offenders, including Moore.
Harbaugh also received a four-year show-cause penalty, and has since departed Michigan to become head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
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