Michigan State athletic director sends strong message to Big Ten commissioner

The Big Ten Conference is once again receiving pressure from schools to enforce a punishment on Michigan football before the end of the 2023 season. Earlier this week, Big Ten coaches called the conference commissioner Tony Petitti in hopes of convincing the conference to punish the Wolverines. Yesterday, Petitti joined another call, this time with athletic directors. On the call, Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller reportedly sent a strong message to the Big Ten to enforce punishments on Michigan without waiting until next season.

Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller urges Big Ten to act on Michigan football scandal

Yesterday, ESPN analyst Pete Thamel released a report that outlined a conversation between the Big Ten athletic directors and the conference commissioner Tony Petitti, who is currently in his first year as commissioner.

On the call, Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller delivered the “most powerful message” according to Thamel’s sources. Haller was reportedly worried about player safety before the Michigan game because of the Wolverines’ alleged advantage from sign-stealing.

In addition, Haller brought up comparisons to last year’s tunnel incident between Michigan and Michigan State, where the Big Ten conference made MSU suspend multiple players before the investigations were completed.

So far, it appears that the NCAA and College Football Playoff committee will wait until the investigation is complete after this season to make any punishment on Michigan football. It is up to the Big Ten whether or not to enforce a punishment during the current season. Michigan football’s next matchup will be this Saturday at 7:30 PM EST against Purdue.