Michigan handed formal Notice of Allegations from Connor Stalions scheme
What to make of the full allegations against Big Blue
The NCAA Committee on Infractions has handed down an official Notice of Allegations to Michigan stemming from the Connor Stalions spy scheme, according to The Athletic. While the Committee on Infractions has not directly released what the charges are, a copy of the notice has been widely reported on.
Background
We’ve covered the Connor Stalions spy ring here a lot, so I won’t get into it too much again. If you’re familiar with Stalions’ dalliances with opposing signs, you can skip this section. But, for those unacquainted with it, here’s the basis for the scandal.
Last October, news broke that Michigan was under investigation for in-person sign stealing. While this isn’t a major allegation - most teams do some form of this in looking across the sidelines - Michigan in particular was charged with what the NCAA called “advanced scouting.” According to reporting at the time, Connor Stalions, a team analyst, was accused of purchasing tickets to future opponent’s games and filming their sidelines to catch their playcalling signs.
That’s where the line was crossed. I talked to a now-former Big 10 analyst who said that his team would look at game copy to try to pick up signs, but sending someone with the express intent to film and review the opposition’s signs was way out of the norm. That was confirmed through other reporting - Michigan crossed the line and Stalions recording the opposing sideline was an unfair advantage.
But then the scandal took a turn for the weirder. Stalions showed up on film on Central Michigan’s sideline during their season-opening loss to rival Michigan State. The Chippewas staff had no denial or answer as to who that was - and it was recently confirmed to be Stalions by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
There was a strange subplot to the story of Stalions starting a vacuum business with star tailback Blake Corum, which led to an all-time quote from Corum: “Vacuums aren’t my thing. I don’t know anything about them.”
There’s also the dream of every college football fan: The Michigan Manifesto. A purported document in excess of 500 pages that was authored by Stalions and a few unnamed others to detail how Michigan would retake the college football landscape. The Manifesto hasn’t been released to the public, but we all have our fingers crossed that it is someday released.
Further Reading on the Stalions Michigan Scandal:
The NCAA’s Notice
Now that we’re caught up, let’s dig into the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations based on their investigation into the scandal.
From what I could gather without seeing the actual notice, Michigan has been handed three main charges: a Level I charge on Jim Harbaugh, Stalions and others for their roles in orchestrating the scheme, a Level II charge against Sherrone Moore for deleting text messages with Stalions, and a Level I charge against the program.
For context for those unaware of NCAA compliance and regulations, a Level I charge is the strongest one the NCAA Committee on Infractions is able to place. That charge can include the “repeat violator” rule, or commonly known as the death penalty, but that wasn’t specifically included in the charges that were released in August by ESPN.
According to NCAA Compliance rules, the charged parties have 90 days to respond to the allegations with a potential for appeal. According to The Athletic, Stalions is expected to appeal the allegations at the Committee on Infractions hearing, which doesn’t have a date set yet. Former Michigan coaches Jesse Minter and Denard Robinson, both named alongside Harbaugh for Level I infractions, are expected to negotiate a smaller penalty.
What’s on the table for punishment?
Thamel reported that the Notice of Allegations specifically took aim at Moore, labeling him a “potential repeat offender.” This stems from his prior one-game suspension from the NCAA in relation to COVID dead period recruiting violations that was served at the beginning of last season.
Most of the other staffers, like Harbaugh, Minter, Stalions, Robinson and Chris Partridge are no longer with the program, so there isn’t much that could go there. I would expect to see similar rulings like the four-year show cause ban that Harbaugh was handed for the COVID dead period recruiting violations. That would mean that if Harbaugh is to return to the college ranks within a four-year period from when the punishment was handed down, he would be subject to a one-year suspension.
So, what’s Michigan really facing here?
I think staff wise, Moore is the one in the crosshairs. Because he was named specifically in the dead period recruiting Notice of Allegations and handed a penalty from the Committee on Infractions relating to that, he faces repeat offender penalties. More than that, the university is also facing repeat offender penalties. But what does that mean?
According to NCAA Bylaw 19.5.2.3, repeat offender charges “demonstrate a significant failure to comply with NCAA legislation.” Repeat offenders can be subject to any of the following penalties, or all if the Committee on Infractions deems that necessary:
(a) The prohibition of all outside competition in the sport(s) involved in the latest major violation for one or two sport seasons and the prohibition of all coaching staff members in that sport(s) from involvement directly or indirectly in any coaching activities at the institution during that period;
(b) The elimination of all initial grants-in-aid and all recruiting activities in the sport(s) involved in the latest major violation(s) in question for up to a two-year period;
(c) The requirement that all institutional staff members serving on the Division II Presidents Council, Management Council or other standing or special cabinets, committees or task forces of the Association resign those positions, it being understood that all institutional representatives shall be ineligible to serve on any NCAA committee for a period of up to four years; and
(d) The requirement that the institution relinquish its voting privileges in the Association for a period of up to four years.
If those penalties look harsh, that’s because they are. The “repeat violator” clause is more commonly known by it’s informal name - the death penalty.
Is the death penalty really on the table?
It’s certainly on the table, but I’d say the possibility of it actually being instated is near-zero. The NCAA isn’t going to put one of its biggest brands and defending national champion to the sword. But that doesn’t mean some of these penalties won’t show up in a diminished state.
The first clue in that the death penalty is on the table is the timeline I previously discussed when the NCAA handed down its first Notice of Allegations. Since this infraction took place after the NCAA investigators gave a Notice of Allegations from the dead period recruiting violations, anything stemming from the Stalions case would likely fall under repeat violator status.
But even more damning for Michigan is the words reportedly used in the Notice of Allegations. The NCAA accused the school of a “pattern of noncompliance” in the Level I charge lobbied against the program. If you remember trusty Bylaw 19.5.2.3, the repeat violator clause kick in when a school “demonstrates a significant failure of an institution to comply with NCAA legislation.”
Those two phrases are very similar. When handing down charges, the words used are important. Investigators have to be clear in what the charge is so that all parties understand what’s on the table. For the NCAA to almost exactly use the language of Bylaw 19.5.2.3, also known as the death penalty, you know they mean business against the Wolverines.
So, what’s next?
Right now, nothing. The Big 10 already pushed out its suspension of Harbaugh for the final three games, so double jeopardy protects the Wolverines from any conference-based punishments.
According to the NCAA’s Infractions Process resources, the clock officially starts once a Notice of Allegations is delivered to a charged person or program. Think of it like a subpoena - it means that this is getting real and that the NCAA is serious about this.
From there, the charged programs or individuals have 90 days to respond in writing. Stalions’ lawyers have made it clear that he is going to respond and appeal the charges. During that response time, the charged individuals have the opportunity to ready any evidence they have to clear their name.
Once the 90-day window to respond has closed, the NCAA can then decide if there needs to be a hearing in front of the Committee on Infractions. Think of this like a trial, where both the investigators and defendants present their evidence. Because both the investigators and the judge and jury are from the NCAA, it’s highly unlikely anyone gets out of this stage without punishment. Most of the time, a deal is reach between the defendant and the investigators/Committee on Infractions for an acknowledgement of wrongdoing and lesser penalty.
I don’t see that happening here. Stalions’ lawyers are posturing to fight this, and the Netflix documentary “Sign Stealer” is set to premier tomorrow, August 27. It’s clear that, at least on Stalions’ side, there’s a fight brewing.
Instead, we’re likely heading to a hearing, which the NCAA has 60 days to set a date for after the 90-day response window closes. That’s going to likely set us to January at the earliest for a resolution on this case.
For the university, though, I’m honestly not sure what comes next. Do they try to fight the allegations? They went the diplomatic route the last time around and it worked out okay for them. Could fighting this round be worth the risk? Because if Michigan puts up more of a fight, you can bet the NCAA is going to float the death penalty even more.
So buckle up. This ride is only going to get bumpier as we get closer to the hearing date.
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Three-Point Stance is your favorite independent college football newsletter. Come for in-depth analysis and bold commentary, stay for the jokes and memes. An idea hatched after years of 12-hour days glued to the couch, Tyler Schuster puts his passion for the sport on full display, delivering big-picture ideas, weekly previews and gambling nuggets directly to your inbox.
An idea hatched after years of 12-hour days glued to the couch, Tyler Schuster puts his passion for the sport on full display, delivering big-picture ideas, weekly previews and gambling nuggets directly to your inbox.
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It's pretty clear that everything that went on at Michigan last year directly led to their championship, so if the NCAA was serious it would strip the championship and hit the program with harsh penalties. As you said, however, it's Michigan that (weirdly) has the upper-hand in capping the punishment since all it will take is one of the "blue chip" football programs to leave the NCAA for the house of cards to collapse. Likely end result will be slapped hands for coaches who will move on anyway and scholarship limitations that will be negated by stupid high NIL earnings. So it goes...
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