Michigan sign-stealing allegations: Big Ten coaches call for conference to take action, per report
Big Ten coaches met via video call on Wednesday and discussed the ongoing situation at Michigan, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported late Wednesday night. During the conversation, the coaches called on the conference and commissioner Tony Petitti to take action.
Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh was on the regularly scheduled 90-minute call, but hung up after the normal business to let the others freely discuss the situation in Ann Arbor without him. Thamel reported multiple coaches urged Petitti to take action during the “intense and emotional” conversation, which lasted about an hour after Harbaugh left.
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“Collectively, the coaches want the Big Ten to act — right now,” a source told Thamel. “What are we waiting on? We know what happened.”
Under the Big Ten’s sportsmanship policy, the league could take action against Michigan and members of the staff. Thamel reported Petitti didn’t indicate what his stance was on that direction.
The NCAA opened up its investigation into the sign-stealing allegations at Michigan two weeks ago, and Thamel and others reported it’s centered on analyst Connor Stalions. Since the initial report from Yahoo! Sports, multiple other allegations have come out related to the situation, including reports that Stalions bought tickets to multiple Big Ten and potential College Football Playoff opponents’ games. Sports Illustrated’s Richard Johnson reported Stalions bragged about having signs as part of the “Michigan Manifesto.”
Michigan suspended Stalions with pay, pending the results of the investigation.
The allegations go back a few years, and teams apparently knew about what might have been happening within the Wolverines program. According to Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger, TCU got word of possible sign-stealing going on at Michigan ahead of last year’s CFP game and used “dummy” signs in the 51-45 victory.
Tuesday night, the Wolverines — who are off to a red-hot, 8-0 start to the season — came in at No. 3 in the first CFP rankings of the year. But the question remains how the sign-stealing allegations will impact Michigan’s standing regarding the Playoff. Both executive director Bill Hancock and committee chairman Boo Corrigan said it’s an “NCAA issue, not a CFP issue” and said the committee will continue to look at what happens on the field when deciding the rankings.
“Michigan’s played well all season,” Hancock said on a conference call after the top 25 reveal. “The fact of the matter is no one knows what happened. The NCAA’s dealing right now with allegations only. The committee makes its judgments based on what happened on the field, and clearly Michigan has been a dominant team.”