NCAA reveals why vacating Michigan wins, national championship were not considered

NCAA Committee on Infractions representatives attributed the decision to not vacate any wins from Michigan — including its 2023 College Football Playoff national championship — due to the NCAA’s “very quick” action opening an investigation into the program’s infamous sign-stealing scheme. The decision was explained shortly after the news.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions also made it clear that removing wins is generally only enforced when there are ineligible players involved. That wasn’t the situation in Michigan’s case, according to various reports from an NCAA press conference held Friday afternoon.

“The NCAA took very quick action once it was apprised of the possibility of these violations, and therefore there was insufficient evidence in the record that the outcome of games was affected,” NCAA Committee on Infractions chair Kay Norton explained, per Nicole Auerbach.

Why did NCAA not vacate Michigan wins?

NCAA committee members says that is two-fold: (1) there was no ineligible athlete competing and (2) the NCAA took "very quick" action in alerting the Big Ten to the investigation, which resulted in Jim Harbaugh's in-season suspension.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 15, 2025

NCAA makes ruling on Michigan after Committee of Infractions meeting

The NCAA levied significant financial penalties and multiple show-case orders as part of its COI punishments handed out Friday morning. Michigan’s financial fines could reach as high as $35 million, including approximately $27 million combined in recouped postseason revenue over the next two years — roughtly $6 million in 2025 and $21 million in 2026 — and approximately $7.2 million or 10-percent of the program’s football budget, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger.

The NCAA also dropped show-cause orders for several current and former Michigan staff members, including a two-year show-cause for second-year Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore, who will also be suspended for the 2026 season-opener in addition to the self-imposed two-game suspension he’s set to serve in the third and fourth games of the 2025 season.

Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who is entering his second year as the Los Angeles Chargers head coach, received an unprecedented 10-year show-cause penalty, while former Wolverines defensive analyst Connor Stalions — the architect of the illegal sign-stealing scheme — received an eight-year show-cause that would require NCAA permission for any college to hire him during that period. Ex-Michigan assistant and alum Denard Robinson also received a three-year show-cause order.

A detailed breakdown of the NCAA penalties below:

• Four years of probation.
• Financial penalties: $50,000 fine, plus 10% of the budget for the football program; A fine equivalent to the anticipated loss of all postseason competition revenue sharing associated with the 2025 and 2026 football seasons; A fine equivalent to the cost of 10% of the scholarships awarded in Michigan’s football program for the 2025-26 academic year.
• A 25% reduction in football official visits during the 2025-26 season. 
• A 14-week prohibition on recruiting communications in the football program during the probation period. 
• Connor Stalions: An eight-year show-cause order, restricting him from all athletically related activities during the show-cause period. 
• Jim Harbaugh: A 10-year show-cause order, restricting him from all athletically related activities during the show-cause period, which will begin on Aug. 7, 2028, at the conclusion of his four-year show-cause order from a previous case. 
• Denard Robinson: A three-year show-cause order, restricting him from all athletically related activities during the show-cause period. 
• Sherrone Moore: A two-year show-cause order, during which he is suspended from a total of three games. Michigan self-imposed a two-game suspension for Moore during the upcoming 2025-26 football season. The panel determined that a suspension for one additional game was appropriate. Therefore, Moore also will be suspended for the first game of the 2026-27 season. Apart from the three-game suspension, Moore is not prohibited from engaging in coaching or other athletically related activities during the show-cause period. 

— On3’s Nick Schultz and Steve Samra contributed to this report.