Sign-stealing scandal: Michigan Wolverines fined millions, coach suspended for three games

Penalized FILE PHOTO: View of a Michigan Wolverines football helmet before a game. The team is being penalized by the NCAA after a sign-stealing scandal. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images) (Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)

The Michigan Wolverines will be without their head coach, Sherrone Moore, for three games and are expected to pay tens of millions of dollars in a sign-stealing scandal.

The NCAA doesn’t have rules about stealing signs, The Associated Press said, but it does not allow teams to send scouts to future opponents’ games and use electronics to record the other team’s signals. It is spelled out in NCAA bylaw 11.6.1, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The university was alerted that Moore violated those rules when he was an assistant under Jim Harbaugh.

Connor Stalions was the person who allegedly spearheaded the scheme and had others record the signs of other teams, sending the videos to him that he would then decode.

He was suspended by Michigan and eventually resigned.

Stalions said he knew nearly every sign opponents used in seven games in two seasons, the AP reported.

He was issued an eight-year show-cause order, basically banning him from college athletics for a set period of time.

Harbaugh also faces a 10-year show-cause order after the end of a four-year order for a previous case, which runs out Aug. 7, 2028, the Free Press reported.

He left the team after winning the 2023 national championship and coaches the Los Angeles Chargers. He had served a three-game suspension after the Big Ten dropped an investigation into sign-stealing.

The NCAA said “Harbaugh ran a program that was largely dismissive of rules compliance. There was little, if any, emphasis on following the rules. To the contrary, his program saw compliance as the enemy, made their own decisions regarding interpreting the rules to their benefit, or outright committed rules violations”, the newspaper said.

Moore was issued a two-year show-cause order, but will be permitted to coach and participate in other athletic activities. He had also put himself under a two-game suspension. The NCAA added the first game of the 2026-2027 season to the penalty, the newspaper.

He will miss the Week 3 game against Central Michigan and the Week 4 game against Nebraska, but will coach against Oklahoma in Week 2, CBS Sports reported.

Denard Robinson was penalized with a three-year show-cause order, banning him from all athletic-related activities, CBS Sports reported. He was the director of player personnel at the time of the sign-stealing.

The school is also on four years’ probation, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The scandal is also expected to cost the school more than $20 million, including a $50,000 fine, a 10% fine of the football program’s budget, a 10% fine on this season’s scholarships and a fine that equals the team’s anticipated loss of postseason revenue sharing for the next two seasons.

The team will also have a quarter of its official visits cut and a 14-week prohibition of recruiting communications, the AP reported.

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