Michigan 'Signgate' saga: Timeline, punishments so far, more

The Michigan Wolverines football program is still going through the process of finding out its fate from the NCAA related to the sign-stealing scandal that rocked the 2023 season and culminated in a national championship.

The latest batch of developments comes via a proposed self-sanctioned two-game suspension for head coach Sherrone Moore for the 2025 season, set for Weeks 3 and 4 against Central Michigan and at Nebraska, respectively.

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Here’s a timeline of where we started, developments along the way and some of the punishments to have come down already.

Oct. 18, 2023: The saga began with the NCAA notifying Michigan and the Big Ten that it had received allegations of a sign-stealing scheme that saw the team send reps to games to scout future opponents, prohibited by rule 11.6.1 in the rulebook. The rule was introduced as a cost-cutting measure in 1994, but was proposed to be removed in 2021, citing that the competitive advantage gained was minimal and outdated. Only 12 of 32 Division I conferences supported the change. The Big Ten was among the schools that rejected it.

The Big Ten also informed future opponents on Michigan’s schedule of the allegations.

Oct 19, 2023: ESPN was the first to report that analyst Connor Stalions was at the center of the case and the ringleader of an “elaborate” alleged system to steal signs.

Oct 20, 2023: Michigan suspends Stalions with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

Oct 21, 2023: Days after Michigan State considered not playing its annual rivalry game due to player safety concerns, Michigan went into East Lansing and won 49-0 to move to 8-0 on the season.

Oct 23, 2023: Media reports revealed that Stalions bought tickets in his own name for over 30 games at 12 Big Ten schools from 2021-23. The reports said that he sent tickets to at least three people across the country and that there was a “significant paper trail,” per ESPN. Further reports said that one Big Ten school asseted via video surveillance that someone who sat in seats in Stalions’ name appeared to film the home team’s sideline the whole game.

Over the next few days, reports would emerge that non-Big Ten schools and potential College Football Playoff opponents also had records of tickets bought in Stalions’ name.

Oct. 27, 2023: A former Division II player and assistant told ESPN’s Dan Murphy that Stalions paid him “a couple hundred dollars” and give him a ticket to a Michigan home game in exchange for recorded signals. He stated the videos he took were on his personal cell phone and sent to a shared iPhone album.

Oct 31, 2023: Central Michigan announces an investigation into a photograph of a man who appeared to be Stalions standing on the sideline of its Sept. 1 opener at Michigan State. The man was dressed in full CMU gear and had a bench credential. Head coach Jim McElwain said they were “unaware” of it and did not condone the alleged behavior.

Nov. 1, 2023: Big Ten coaches held a 90-minute phone call with commissioner Tony Petitti and urged the conference to take immediate action against Michigan. Head coach Jim Harbaugh was on the call but hung up when the allegations were discussed. Petitti held a conference call with Big Ten athletic directors the following day.

Nov. 2, 2023: Michigan President Santa Ono sent an email to Petitti, urging due process before the Big Ten decided on any punishments.

Nov. 3, 2023: Stalions resigns from Michigan football, citing not wanting to be a distraction to the team’s run. His attorney said: “Connor also wants to make it clear that, to his knowledge, neither Coach Harbaugh, nor any other coach or staff member, told anyone to break any rules or were aware of improper conduct regarding the recent allegations of advanced scouting.”

Nov. 6, 2023: The Big Ten informs Michigan it could face punishment from the league, citing the conference’s sportsmanship policy. Athletic director Warde Manuel stayed back from College Football Playoff committee meetings due to “attending to important matters regarding the ongoing investigation into our football program.”

Nov. 10, 2023: The Big Ten suspended Jim Harbaugh for the final three games of the regular season at Penn State, at Maryland and Ohio Sate, citing the Big Ten Sportsmanship policy as the team landed in Happy Valley for its game with the Nittany Lions. Michigan sought to fight the ruling in courts, including a temporary restraining order (TRO), but was unable to get one in time for kickoff on Nov. 11. Michigan would win 24-15 with offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore serving as interim head coach.

Nov. 16, 2023: Michigan’s legal battle continued into the next week, but the school would back off after Harbaugh accepted the suspension in exchange for the Big Ten concluding its investigation. It was his second three-game suspension of the year after sitting out the first three games due to recruiting violations from a separate case.

Nov. 17, 2023: Linebackers coach Chris Partridge was fired for allegedly instructing players on how to respond to investigators, per reports.

Nov. 18, 2023: Michigan earned program win No. 1,000 in school history in a 31-24 win at Maryland, its second game in a row without Harbaugh.

Nov. 25, 2023: Michigan closes out its 2023 regular season with a dramatic 30-24 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes, their third-straight in the series. The victory sent them to their third-straight Big Ten Championship game and allowed Harbaugh to return the following week to the field.

Jan. 8, 2024: The Wolverines close out their season a perfect 15-0 despite the controversy, beating Washington 34-13 to win the College Football National Championship.

Jan. 10, 2024: NCAA president Charlie Baker states that Michigan won its national title “fair and square” despite the allegations.

Jan. 24, 2024: Harbaugh leaves Michigan to return to the NFL to coach the Los Angeles Chargers. Less than 48 hours later, Moore was named his replacement.

Aug. 7, 2024: NCAA hands Harbaugh a 4-year show-cause for the recruiting violations (‘Burgergate’) case that includes a one-year suspension. The NCAA had previously put Michigan on three years of probation along with a fine and recruiting limits after a negotiated resolution to that case. He asserted that he did not fail to comply with the investigators, which separated the two cases.

Aug. 25, 2024: Weeks after reports of a draft notice of allegations were reported, the NCAA sent Michigan the official NOA. The document stated that 7 members of the 2023 team, including Moore, are accused of violating NCAA rules. Among the accusations is Moore deleting 52 text messages from a thread with Stalions in October 2023, though the messages were recovered via additional imaging. Moore stated he looked toward those being released. Deleting the texts were said to be a potential Level II violation, which could potentially bring about a suspension due to his status as a repeat violator (Moore served a 1-game suspension early in 2023 as part of COVID-era recruiting violations).

Harbaugh, Partridge, Stalions and former staffer Denard Robinson were all accused of committing Level I violations, the most severe punishments. Michigan as a school was also named as a Level I violator. Former assistants Jesse Minter and Steve Clinkscale, now with the Chargers, were also named and accused of recruiting violations unrelated to the Stalions’ saga.

Aug. 27, 2024: Netflix releases “Untold: Sign Stealer” documentary featuring Stalions, who spent the majority of the program defending his actions and repeating claims that sign-stealing is rampant in college football.

April 28, 2025: Minter and Clinkscale, who worked on a resolution to their cases with the NCAA separate from the Michigan, were issued show-cases for their involvement in the recruiting violations from the Aug. 2024 NOA. Minter has a one-year show-cause, while Clinkscale’s is for two years.

May 5, 2025: Reports emerge that Michigan will self-impose a two-game suspension for Moore in response to last August’s NOA and allegations of non-compliance with the deleted text message thread with Stalions. Moore will miss the Week 3 and 4 games against Central Michigan and at Nebraska, respectively. Unlike Harbaugh’s suspensions in 2023, Moore will not be able to coach the team for the two weeks he is out.

There are also rumblings of additional punishments for Moore and Michigan, reported Monday by TheWolverine.com’s Chris Balas.

Furthermore, Michigan’s hearing with the committee on infractions is reportedly set for June 6-7, so we could have a better idea of what the program is facing over the next month or so and ahead of the 2025 season.