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TheWolverine.com chat: Answering your questions on NCAA vs. Michigan allegations

Chris Balasby: Chris Balas10/24/23Balas_Wolverine
thewolverine-com-chat-answering-your-questions-on-ncaa-vs-michigan-allegations
Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh, Donovan Edwards (7) J.J. McCarthy (9) celebrate after a touchdown against the Michigan State Spartans during first-half action at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (Kirthmon Dozier/USA Today Syndication: Detroit Free Press)

Michigan is being investigated for illegal on-site scouting leading to a sign stealing operation, with analyst Connor Stalions allegedly at the forefront. Michigan has suspended Stalions with pay, but is there more to come in the near future? We discuss that and more in today’s chat.

LINK: TheWolverine.com Chat — Answering your questions on NCAA vs. Michigan allegations
RELATED: Monday Musings: On reports that Michigan staffer Connor Stalions bought tickets for people who videotaped sidelines

As we noted yesterday, sign stealing in itself is not illegal. The NCAA bylaw reads, “Off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited” … ironically, not because it’s immoral, but passed as a cost cutting measure in 1994. They probably think (like most) that anyone stupid enough not to change their signs regularly deserves what’s coming to them. 

But rules are rules. The fact that Stalions bought so many tickets, in the same place (where it would be easy to see and/or record), seems to make it easy to connect the dots. Forget about what’s provable or not provable — someone was there, doing something. It’s hard to imagine the NCAA will distinguish between Stalions and someone he paid (essentially, through ticket purchases, whatever) and someone acting for him. If Michigan got film, as is seemingly alleged, it’s a violation of bylaw “11.6.1 Off-Campus, In-Person Scouting Prohibition.”

But yes, that bylaw doesn’t state who is prohibited from off-campus scouting. We’ve heard stories over the years of opponents having sign stealers behind the Michigan bench during the game, in fact, one of the reasons the Wolverines held up banners protecting their cards during the Outback Bowl several years ago. It could be a fan, a sibling, anyone, and it would be legal. It’s naïve to believe it’s not happening every Saturday. 

So … what’s next for Michigan? Will the Jim Harbaugh contract extension be put on hold, and what’s the NCAA’s next move? We answer some of those questions and more in today’s impromptu chat.