The NCAA imposed a significant fine on Michigan, reportedly exceeding $20 million, stemming from the loss of postseason football revenue over the next two seasons. This comes as a part of its sanctions following an investigation into an alleged sign-stealing scheme involving former Wolverines staffer Connor Stalions. Jim Harbaugh, who served as head coach at the time, will receive a show-cause for 10 years. Stalions has an eight-year show-cause.
Penalties for coach Sherrone Moore include a two-year show-cause order, during which he is suspended for three games. That includes the self-imposed two-game suspension in addition to the first game of the 2026 season. Moore will miss Michigan’s Week 3 matchup against Central Michigan and the Week 4 Big Ten opener against Nebraska, but will coach in Week 2 against Oklahoma.
“Good for them,” a Big Ten GM told CBSSports’ Matt Zenitz via text, adding a “lol” to indicate sarcasm. “I guess the powers that be felt that was adequate punishment and losing that amount of money will make people think twice before breaking the rules.”
One Big Ten director of player personnel told Zenitz his only surprise was the steep amount of the fine, with the show-causes being mostly irrelevant.
“They usually don’t do anything because those guys never really come back to this level,” the DPP said.
The ruling by the Committee on Infractions (COI) can be viewed here. Below is a full list of penalties for the Wolverines.
- Four years of probation.
- Financial penalties:
- $50,000 fine, plus 10% of the budget for the football program.
- A fine equivalent to the anticipated loss of all postseason competition revenue sharing associated with the 2025 and 2026 football seasons.
- A fine equivalent to the cost of 10% of the scholarships awarded in Michigan’s football program for the 2025-26 academic year.
- A 25% reduction in football official visits during the 2025-26 season — which one recruiting source says “doesn’t make sense” because official visits are now unlimited.
- A 14-week prohibition on recruiting communications in the football program during the probation period.
- Jim Harbaugh:
- A 10-year show-cause order, restricting him from all athletically related activities during the show-cause period, which will begin on Aug. 7, 2028, at the conclusion of his four-year show-cause order from a previous case.
- Sherrone Moore:
- A two-year show-cause order, during which he is suspended from a total of three games. Michigan self-imposed a two-game suspension for Moore during the upcoming 2025-26 football season. The panel determined that a suspension for one additional game was appropriate. Therefore, Moore also will be suspended for the first game of the 2026-27 season. Apart from the three-game suspension, Moore is not prohibited from engaging in coaching or other athletically related activities during the show-cause period.
- Connor Stalions:
- An eight-year show-cause order, restricting him from all athletically related activities during the show-cause period.
- Denard Robinson:
- A three-year show-cause order, restricting him from all athletically related activities during the show-cause period.
Over three seasons, the Michigan football program committed multiple violations, including an off-campus, in-person scouting scheme and impermissible recruiting inducements and communications, according to a Division I Committee on Infractions decision. The panel also cited breaches of head coach responsibility, failures to cooperate, and Michigan’s broader failure to monitor its football program.
Stalions orchestrated the scouting violation, which were corroborated through interviews, ticket receipts, transfer data and other evidence. The panel classified Stalions’ off-campus, in-person scouting, along with Harbaugh’s responsibility violation and most failures to cooperate, as Level I infractions. Recruiting violations, Moore’s failure to cooperate and Michigan’s failure to monitor were deemed Level II violations.
Michigan won the 2023 national championship to punctuate a season in which Harbaugh served a self-imposed three-game after the sign-stealing allegations first game to light.
“They did what they did and won a national title,” another Big Ten GM told Zenitz. “The problem with the NCAA taking so long to dish out a penalty helped Michigan here. A postseason ban with a quicker decision on top of their punishment would have hit harder in this day and age.”
According to the panel, Stalions directed a network of staff, interns, and acquaintances — referred to as the “KGB” — to conduct off-campus scouting of 13 future regular-season opponents over 52 contests from 2021 to 2023. He purchased tickets, attended games, and collected film of opponents’ signals, which he later deciphered. Stalions admitted spending nearly $35,000 on tickets in 2022 alone. The panel noted that the full scope of the scheme and the competitive advantage it conferred may never be fully known due to the intentional destruction and withholding of materials and information.
As part of the scheme, Stalions personally conducted in-person scouting in 2023, attending a Central Michigan game against Michigan State while disguised in Central Michigan coaching attire and wearing a bench pass. Per the panel, interview statements from a former Michigan football staffer indicated that Stalions attended the game both to decipher Michigan State’s signals and to assist a Central Michigan staff member with play calling.
Multiple individuals, including Stalions, Harbaugh, Moore and Robinson, failed to cooperate during the investigation. Robinson served as director of player personnel at the time. The panel cited destroyed materials, deleted messages and misleading statements, describing Stalions’ conduct as “some of the worst the COI has ever seen.” Moore deleted a text thread following media reports of the scheme, while Harbaugh refused to provide records or participate in interviews.
The investigation also found recruiting violations involving four prospects. Staff members, including Steve Clinkscale, Robinson, Jesse Minter and Chris Partridge, provided inducements or sent impermissible communications prior to permissible recruiting periods.
Harbaugh was found to have violated head coach responsibility rules by failing to promote compliance and allowing a culture in which staff disregarded NCAA rules. Michigan itself failed to monitor its program, with compliance staff efforts repeatedly dismissed or rebuked by the football program.
Chris Partridge, whom Michigan fired fired in 2023 during the NCAA investigation, received no penalties in the final ruling and does not face a show-cause order. The panel determined that Partridge’s only violation was a single Level II impermissible text contact with a high school prospect, which he immediately ceased upon realizing the prospect’s age. None of the aggravating factors cited by enforcement staff were applied, and the panel noted that Partridge had no prior major NCAA violations. Partridge since joined the NFL as an assistant coach with the Seattle Seahawks.
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