NCAA could increase Sherrone Moore's Michigan suspension: ESPN insider

Michigan has already suspended head football coach Sherrone Moore for two games of the 2025 season, but that doesn’t mean the NCAA is done handing out its own punishments.

As the NCAA looks to put a bow on the Connor Stalions case at Michigan, there is some speculation the body could add to Moore’s suspension, and that the school’s own two-game ban was something of an olive branch in their direction.

That’s the opinion of ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, who suggested that Michigan and the NCAA are involved in a kind of negotiation with each other.

“When you’re negotiating, you don’t do too much,” Thamel said on The College GameDay Podcast. 

“Clearly, that’s a signal from the other side that the NCAA seems like they think he should be suspended for more, and it’s a negotiation. They’re going to meet in the middle.”

The current plan is for Moore to miss the third and fourth games of the regular season, allowing him to coach the opener and then in Week 2 at Oklahoma, in what will be a critical SEC vs. Big Ten matchup and litmus test for both programs and conferences.

Michigan suspended Moore for two games after he deleted a threat of 52 text messages with Stalions, a Level II violation, messages that the NCAA has since obtained.

But he could face additional punishment from the infractions committee as the NCAA may view this as a lack of cooperation with its investigation, something it does not take lightly, which could potentially warrant a harsher penalty like an extended suspension.

Moore could also be considered a repeat offender from the NCAA’s point of view, as he served a one-game ban in 2023 for his role in the Covid recruiting violations incident.

There is also precedent for the NCAA overriding and expanding self-imposed punishments involving Michigan, as it did following the Covid recruiting probe.

“It’s reasonable to ascertain that Michigan is going in low with the two [games],” Thamel added.

“Now whether he actually ends up missing those two, whether that’s accepted, whether they do more, there are a lot of variables there. That is more like a negotiation point with the third and fourth game this year.”

Michigan itself could also potentially be considered a repeat offender and face additional penalties involving restrictions on football recruiting or even a postseason ban.

A move to ban Michigan from playing postseason games appears to be less likely, given the relative reluctance the NCAA has shown to levy a penalty that extreme in recent years.

Michigan’s athletic director suggested he didn’t believe a postseason ban was likely after conversations he had with people inside the NCAA.

And NCAA chief Charlie Baker has publicly stated that he believes Michigan’s national championship was won legitimately, a potential signal that the title will be spared from any formal punishment.

But the NCAA has the final word, and that’s not expected until later this summer or fall. Until then, Michigan waits.

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