Michigan receives official Notice of Allegations from NCAA on 'burgergate' violations
Michigan has received an official Notice of Allegations from the NCAA regarding the investigation into alleged recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period, according to Angelique Chengelis of The Detroit News.
The NOA revolves around four alleged Level II violations, which included meeting with recruits during the dead period during the pandemic and potentially purchasing burgers for them at a local establishment – dubbed “Burgergate” by fans and media – which also led to a Level I allegation against head coach Jim Harbaugh for not cooperating with the NCAA’s investigation. Other alleged offenses included contact with recruits outside the allowable period, analysts coaching on the field and watching player workouts via Zoom.
Michigan was served a draft NOA last winter and leadership accepted the Level II violations, but Harbaugh to date has not agreed to the Level I offense. A Level I infraction is punishable by up to six games with other recruiting restrictions thrown into the mix. Harbaugh served a Michigan-imposed three-game suspension to start the season after the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions rejected the negotiated four-game suspension, punting the situation to this winter/spring.
Offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore also served a school-imposed suspension in the season opener. Additionally, U-M also did not host recruits in the season’s first two weeks as part of its self-imposed penalty.
Michigan has 90 days to respond in writing to the NCAA’s NOA. From there, the NCAA has 60 days to reply to it and the Committee on Infractions typically holds its hearing two months after the NCAA’s reply is filed. After that process, another two or three months could pass before a public infractions report is released and an appeal could push things back six months or more, per The Detroit News.
This investigation is separate from the NCAA investigating allegations of an alleged illegal scouting operation at Michigan, centered around former analyst Connor Stalions. Stalions is accused of purchasing tickets to opposing games in his name and transferring them to colleagues with the intent of recording and decoding signals for future matchups. The Big Ten handed down a three-game suspension to Harbaugh at the end of the regular season, bringing his total number of games served to six during the 2023 campaign. There is still no reported evidence that Harbaugh or any of his coaching staff knew of any potential illicit activity that pertains to the sign-stealing allegations.
Michigan has a contract extension on the table for Harbaugh that would make him the highest-paid coaching the Big Ten at five years, $55 million. It has not been signed or agreed to as of Dec. 20.
Harbaugh and Michigan are preparing for the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 against the Alabama Crimson Tide in one of the College Football Playoff’s semifinal games.
