We interrupt coverage of Ohio State’s national championship to bring you an important Michigan vs. the NCAA update.
Per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, Michigan has officially responded to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations and 11 alleged infractions against the program, six of them being Level I violations, for the sign-stealing operation that took place within the program from 2021 to 2023.
As you might expect, Michigan is fighting the allegations, accusing the NCAA of “grossly overreaching” and “wildly overcharging” without what it perceives to be credible evidence that other staff members knew of Connor Stalions’ illegal sign-stealing system.
Yahoo Sports obtained part of Michigan’s 137-page response to the NOA, which revealed that the NCAA was tipped off to Stalions’ scheme by an unnamed source who previously used to work for Michigan – not Ryan Day or his brother. The Wolverines are claiming the NCAA can only present evidence and information that can be attributed to individuals who are willing to be identified.
Michigan does not plan to enter into a negotiated resolution with the NCAA, which means the case will soon be bound for a hearing before the Division I Committee of Infractions. That hearing is likely to take place in the coming weeks, though any penalties levied against the Wolverines may still not be announced for some time after the hearing. Michigan is also requesting a “pre-hearing conference” to discuss the origins of the whistleblower and his or her role in the charges brought to the school, per Yahoo’s report.
In its response to the NCAA, Michigan also defends Sherrone Moore’s 52 deleted text messages with Stalions. Moore reportedly deleted those text messages the day the story of the NCAA’s investigation into Michigan broke, some of which were related to sign stealing. The university contends none of the text messages were specifically about the illegal in-person scouting system.
The texts range from a “juicy report for you on Colorado State,” to blitzing tendencies from Michigan State, to Stalions texting Moore “Nebraska is screwed,” to Stalions suggesting Michigan should change its signals ahead of the 2022 game vs. Ohio State. But Moore claims he only deleted the texts because he was angry that Stalions might receive all the credit for Michigan’s success.
“It wasn’t to hide anything, it was just that — I was just extremely angry of, you know, the type of person that would do that to this program and these kids,” Moore said in the response.
The report also claims a handwritten note was found on Stalions’ desk referencing a plan for Michigan’s 2023 matchup with Ohio State which included “focusing on them on all year plus watching every TV copy and sky cam.” Michigan contends that serves as evidence that much of Stalions’ sign stealing came through legal avenues rather than in-person scouting.
Michigan refuted that it failed to monitor its football program regarding Stalions’ scheme, claiming two members of the program raised concerns about his process for deciphering signals. One of those members was former running backs coach Mike Hart, who apparently received a call from a Rutgers staff member alleging Stalions was “going further” than most do regarding sign stealing, then proceeded to report that call to defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
Michael Neyman, a low-level Michigan staffer, also raised concerns about Stalions’ sign-stealing scheme and refused to take part in it when Stalions asked him to scout a game at Georgia, which Michigan says was permissible because Georgia was not on Michigan’s schedule even though the Wolverines could have played the Bulldogs in the CFP.
Michigan also refuted three of four NCAA allegations that Stalions impeded the investigation. The four allegations from the NCAA in this instance include:
- Stalions declined to produce his phone for personal imaging
- Stalions withheld or removed hard drives from his office
- Stailons put relevant information into a backpack and instructed a staff member to bring it to an unpaid intern’s house where Stalions could pick it up
- Stalions instructing a student intern to delete potentially relevant information
Of those four, Michigan claims only the fourth is substantiated.
Further details of the Wolverines’ response can be found in Yahoo Sports’ report.
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