Connor Stalions arrives in Indy for NCAA hearing on Michigan sign-stealing case

Over the next two days, representatives from Michigan will take part in a process that will examine what really took place and who was responsible. The NCAA will outline exactly what Michigan is being accused of and the evidence it has to back up those claims. On the other side, Michigan will have the opportunity to plead its case, hoping to sway the committee toward issuing a lesser punishment than some are hoping for.

After the hearing, the NCAA committee will spend the next several weeks determining an appropriate punishment for the Michigan football program, one that could include fines, recruiting restrictions, a postseason ban, and even vacating wins from previous seasons. A decision is expected to be announced by the end of the summer.

Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated recently highlighted exactly what led us to this moment.

"Stalions purchased tickets to games of many Big Ten opponents and a select few nonconference foes, and the Wolverines began to gain a reputation around the conference for having opponents’ signals. He is believed to have orchestrated the gathering of signs from more than 50 games over a three-year span.

While it’s legal to gather and decode signals from game film or during a game, the work of obtaining signals via attending games on other campuses violated NCAA bylaw 11.6.1 regarding advance scouting."

In addition to the issue of sign-stealing, Stalions was also on Central Michigan's sideline during a road matchup against Michigan State... wearing a disguise. That would also be another violation regarding in-person scouting, along with potentially violating other rules that led to him obtaining a sideline credential.

Via Forde:

"Then there was Stalions's ultimate spy game: showing up on the Central Michigan Chippewas’ sideline in disguise as one of the staff members for their Sept. 1, 2023, season opener against the Michigan State Spartans, a major rival of the Wolverines. An NCAA investigation of Central Michigan’s role in the Stalions affair ensued and remains ongoing. Assistant coach Jake Kostner, a friend of Stalions's and a former Michigan staffer himself, was ultimately let go by CMU. Head coach Jim McElwain, who also spent the ’18 season at Michigan as an assistant, announced his retirement after the ’24 campaign."

While there's still plenty that we don't know, we do know this: Michigan made mistakes relating to Connor Stalions and his sign-stealing activities, and the NCAA is going to issue a punishment for those mistakes.