Michigan Football: The Latest on the Wolverines Scandal

Michigan has been one of the bigger stories of the 2023 college football season. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, it’s not because of their 9-0 record after beating Purdue last night. It’s because the Wolverines football program is wrapped up in a huge scandal. 

Anyone that has been paying any sort of attention to college football has at least heard about Michigan stealing the signals that opponents use to call their offensive plays. With the advent of the up-tempo spread offense, many teams around the country don’t huddle anymore. They rely on a system of signals (or other means) to call their plays. Michigan, or at least one member of the Wolverines staff, has been accused of stealing the signals from opponents.

Who is Connor Stalions?

Stalions is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a former Marine Corps captain. He is from Michigan and has been a huge fan of Wolverine football since his youth. He volunteered in an off-the-field role for the past few years before being hired as a full-time staffer. He continued to serve in an off-the-field position.

There is evidence that Stalions bought tickets to numerous Michigan opponents and then arranged for others to attend the game and then videotape both the game and the sideline. There is also evidence that Stalions paid these individuals from his Venmo account. 

The idea was to capture the opponent’s signals and then match those signals to certain formations and plays. Knowing an opponent’s signals is an advantage for a college football defense as it can better anticipate what play an offense is running.

Stealing Signals Does Not Violate Any NCAA Rules

It’s important to understand that stealing an opponent’s signals is perfectly within the boundaries of the NCAA and the Big Ten. There are no rules that prohibit stealing a team’s signs. While the media continues to call this a “sign stealing scandal,” it’s actually is not.

What is not permitted by the NCAA is scouting an opponent in person. There’s really no need to scout in person anymore with all of the technology available. One item that is available is All-22 game film, which anyone can gain access to and watch. It is permissible to watch All-22 film and break down a team’s signals. However, you cannot attend a game as a member of an FBS coaching staff and scout an opponent.

Big Ten Coaches Call for Discipline

Big Ten coaches and athletic directors are calling on conference commissioner Tony Pettiti to hand down discipline to the Michigan program. There are several problems with Pettiti just arbitrarily reprimanding the Wolverines. 

Connor Stalions

First, there is the issue of due process. An investigation has to be completed before any punishment is delivered. That’s the way any other NCAA infraction is handled. Why should this be any different? Plus, the investigation needs to find out if any wrongdoing was actually done. Saying that something happened and proving it did are two different things.

An investigation must also make it clear whether head coach Jim Harbaugh – or any of his on-field staff members – knew that this operation was taking place. If an on-field coach knew of this and it can be proven, you can bet on some serious punishment from the NCAA and the Big Ten. 

Stalions has resigned his position at Michigan. He issued a statement that said essentially that he didn’t want to be a distraction to what he hopes is a championship season. It’s entirely possible that Stalions alone was responsible for the scandal. A complete investigation is needed to get the whole story.

Problems for Everyone Involved

Obviously, this is a big deal for Harbaugh, whether he knew or not. An investigation could prove he knew nothing, yet he will still suffer attacks in the media because it’s his program. It’s a big deal for the NCAA too. This is something unprecedented in college football. It’s also going to be very hard to prove that Harbaugh and the rest of Michigan football had anything to do with this.

You can scroll through Twitter all day long watching videos of “this proves Michigan is guilty” when in reality, they prove nothing at all. The NCAA will likely be able to prove that Stalions did scout opponents’ games, alone by himself. Connecting it to the rest of the staff will prove difficult. What’s the penalty for a lone wolf acting by himself who broke the scouting rule? Whatever it is, the whole thing leaves problems for everyone involved, including the game of college football.