NCAA issues two-year show-cause to Jim McElwain in Central Michigan, Connor Stalions sign-stealing ruling

The NCAA has finally reached a resolution with its investigation into infamous former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions‘ presence on Central Michigan‘s sideline during a 2023 game against Michigan State. The NCAA Committee on Infractions announce it has levied multi-year show-cause penalties against four now-former Central Michigan coaches, including a two-year show-cause penalty against ex-Chippewas head coach Jim McElwain. These penalties were agreed upon by all involved.

McElwain, the former Florida and Colorado State head coach, retired following the 2024 season and is currently serving as a special assistant to the athletic director at Central Michigan. The NCAA also issued two-year show-cause orders against former Chippewas coordinator of athletic equipment Nate Mason and former director of recruiting Mike McGee, and a four-year show-cause against former quarterbacks coach Jake Kostner, who facilitated the Stalions’ presence on the Central Michigan sideline Sept. 1, 2023 inside Michigan State‘s Spartan Stadium.

Stalions received an unprecedented eight-year show-cause order that would require NCAA approval for any college under the NCAA’s purview to hire him to any position within its athletic department during the next eight years. Stalions, a retired Marine Captain, served as a defensive analyst for the Michigan football program from May 2022 to Nov. 2023, when he resigned in Oct. 2023 after reports of his intricate sign-stealing enterprise was revealed. Former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, now in his second season as the Los Angeles Chargers‘ head coach, also received a 10-year show-cause order for his involvement in Stalions’ sign-stealing scheme, while ex-Wolverines assistant and alum Denard Robinson received a three-year show-cause. Current Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore drew a three-game suspension, the first two of which were served this season, and a two-year show-cause as well.

According to the NCAA Committee on Infractions report released Thursday, Kostner had a pre-existing relationship with Stalions and coordinated with the then-Michigan analyst to be on Central Michigan’s sideline against Michigan State. Kostner went so far as to request Chippewas coach-issued apparel from Mason and then coordinated with McGee to provide official-looking disguise and a team-issued bench pass for Stalions under an alias. The NCAA determined McGee didn’t know who the pass was really for, only that it was a friend of Kostner “who was skilled in deciphering signals,” per the NCAA COI release.

McElwain, who initally denied knowing anything about Stalions’ presence on Michigan State’s visiting sideline, was deemed responsible for the incident under the NCAA’s head coach responsibility legislation.

Kostner resigned his role as Central Michigan’s quarterbacks coach one game into the 2024 season after an internal investigation into how Stalions ended up on the Chippewas sideline the season prior. McGee also left Central Michigan in 2024 while Mason remained with the Chippewas through the 2024 season but is no longer listed on the team’s staff directory.

While not all involved were cooperative throughout the investigation, the NCAA Committee on Infractions credited Central Michigan with demonstrating “expemplary coopersation throughout the investigation and proactively assisted the enforcement staff with a timely and thorough collection of factual information and key records,” according to its release.