Michigan believes that Ohio State is responsible for developing evidence and presenting to the NCAA the case that the Wolverines were running an illegal sign-stealing operation, according to a report. Further, the report says that Ryan Day’s brothers are believed to have ties to the investigation.
In a report published last week, The Washington Post said that an “outside investigative firm” began investigating Michigan this season for alleged sign-stealing. The firm was said to have gained access to a computer drive maintained and accessed by Michigan’s coaches.
The evidence the outside firm obtained was then presented to the NCAA in a meeting that took place on October 17. By October 18, the NCAA and Big Ten had begun investigating Michigan.
We asked at the time who was bankrolling the investigation and how the computer files were accessed. A new report provides some possible information.
The Wolverine’s Chris Balas reported on Friday that Michigan is gathering evidence that would link Day’s brothers to the investigation. Day has two younger brothers — Christopher and Tim. Each brother reportedly has a link to one of the two investigators.
Christopher Day even runs what is said to be a private investigator company in New Hampshire called 4th and 1 Investigations and Protective Agency.
The report further states that law enforcement is looking into how any of the computer files obtained for the investigation may have been obtained.
Day’s brothers/Ohio State potentially being behind the investigation and busting their rival for cheating would not change whether or not Michigan was doing something against NCAA rules. However, it would add a new chapter to an already extremely intense rivalry. Ohio State also would want to make sure they are not committing wrongdoing that could in turn be brought up to the NCAA or Big Ten. They also would not want to have used illegal means to access computer files to build the case.
Whether or not the evidence was obtained illegally almost certainly will not matter to the NCAA. The oversight body acts based on evidence it finds, regardless of how that evidence was obtained. However, this sort of thing could motivate Michigan to look hard for dirt against Ohio State that they could submit to the NCAA too.
