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Michigan just got hit with a massive fine – reportedly more than $20 million – as the NCAA dropped its hammer on the Wolverines’ sign-stealing scandal. The penalties stem from lost postseason football revenue over the next two seasons following the investigation into former staffer Connor Stalions’ elaborate scheme. Former head coach Jim Harbaugh faces a 10-year show-cause penalty, while Stalions received an eight-year show-cause.
Current head coach Sherrone Moore isn’t getting off easy either. He’s looking at a two-year show-cause order with a three-game suspension. Moore will miss Michigan’s Week 3 game against Central Michigan and their Big Ten opener against Nebraska in Week 4, but he’ll be back on the sidelines for their Week 2 showdown with Oklahoma.
“Good for them,” one Big Ten GM texted CBSSports’ Matt Zenitz, adding a sarcastic “lol” before continuing, “I guess the powers that be felt that was adequate punishment and losing that amount of money will make people think twice before breaking the rules.”
Another Big Ten director of player personnel told Zenitz he wasn’t shocked by most penalties — just the hefty fine. The show-causes? Mostly meaningless.
“They usually don’t do anything because those guys never really come back to this level,” the DPP said.
The Full Penalty Breakdown
The Committee on Infractions ruling includes:
- Four years of probation
- Financial penalties including a $50,000 fine plus 10% of the football program budget
- Loss of all postseason revenue sharing for 2025 and 2026 seasons
- A fine equal to 10% of football scholarships for 2025-26
The NCAA also imposed a 25% reduction in official visits during 2025-26 — which one recruiting source called nonsensical since official visits are now unlimited — and a 14-week ban on recruiting communications.
Individual penalties hit several key figures. Harbaugh’s 10-year show-cause won’t even begin until 2028, after his current four-year show-cause from a previous case expires. Moore’s two-year show-cause includes the three-game suspension but doesn’t otherwise restrict his coaching activities.
Stalions got hammered with an eight-year show-cause.
Former Michigan star and director of player personnel Denard Robinson received a three-year show-cause, restricting him from all athletic activities during that period.
The Wolverines won it all anyway.
According to the NCAA, Michigan’s football program committed multiple violations over three seasons, including the elaborate off-campus scouting operation and various recruiting violations. The panel cited head coach responsibility failures, lack of cooperation, and Michigan’s broader failure to monitor its program.
Stalions was the mastermind behind what the NCAA described as a sophisticated scouting operation. The evidence was overwhelming — interviews, ticket receipts, transfer data, and more. The panel classified Stalions’ scouting scheme, Harbaugh’s responsibility violations, and most cooperation failures as Level I infractions (the most serious). The recruiting violations, Moore’s cooperation issues, and Michigan’s monitoring failures were deemed Level II.
“They did what they did and won a national title,” another Big Ten GM told Zenitz. “The problem with the NCAA taking so long to dish out a penalty helped Michigan here. A postseason ban with a quicker decision on top of their punishment would have hit harder in this day and age.”
The details of Stalions’ operation read like a spy novel. He directed a network of staff, interns, and associates — nicknamed the “KGB” — to scout 13 future opponents across 52 games from 2021-2023. Stalions personally spent nearly $35,000 on tickets in 2022 alone, attending games to collect film of opponents’ signals which he later decoded.
In one particularly brazen move, Stalions attended a Central Michigan game against Michigan State while disguised in Central Michigan coaching gear and wearing a bench pass. The panel noted he was there both to steal Michigan State’s signals and help a Central Michigan staff member with play calling.
Multiple individuals destroyed evidence during the investigation. The panel described Stalions’ lack of cooperation as “some of the worst the COI has ever seen.” Moore deleted a text thread after media reports surfaced, while Harbaugh refused to provide records or participate in interviews.
The investigation also uncovered recruiting violations involving four prospects. Staff members including Steve Clinkscale, Robinson, Jesse Minter, and Chris Partridge provided improper inducements or sent communications outside permissible recruiting periods.
Harbaugh failed to promote compliance and allowed a culture where staff disregarded NCAA rules, according to the findings. Michigan’s compliance staff efforts were repeatedly dismissed by the football program.
Interestingly, Chris Partridge — who Michigan fired during the NCAA investigation in 2023 — received no penalties in the final ruling. The panel determined his only violation was a single impermissible text to a high school prospect, which he immediately stopped after realizing the player’s age. Partridge has since joined the Seattle Seahawks as an assistant coach.
