NCAA only has evidence against Connor Stalions in scandal?
On Friday, amid a growing sign-stealing scandal, analyst Connor Stalions announced his resignation from Michigan.
“I love the University of Michigan and its football program. And I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to work with the incredible student athletes, coach Harbaugh and the other coaches that have been a part of the Michigan football family during my tenure. I do not want to be a distraction from what I hope to be a championship run for the team, and I will continue to cheer them on,” Stalions said in a statement shared with The Athletic.
Despite Stalions’ earlier suspension and subsequent resignation, the NCAA investigation into Michigan remains ongoing. However, it appears that no other guilty party has been discovered within the program.
“The NCAA is almost assuredly, if they found anybody else was working with Connor Stalions on that Michigan staff — whether it’s another analyst, all the way up to Harbaugh — would tell U-M, this guy’s implicated, too, and that person would be suspended, because the NCAA is trying to create a level playing field,” Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel said on 97.1 The Ticket, via Clayton Sayfie.
“Nobody from Michigan (other than Stalions) has been suspended. Two weeks in, it’s reasonable to assume, they didn’t find anybody else involved.”
It’s hard to imagine that this was a solo operation and that no one else throughout the program was aware of what was occurring, but the fact that no one else at Michigan has been suspended would seem to imply that Wetzel is correct.
However, it is important to remember that there has been some alleged outside involvement, with an anonymous former D-III coach coach saying he was also part of the scheme.
Some questionable activity on Stalions’ Venmo account also seems to indicate that the scandal was more wide-ranging, just not within the Michigan program itself necessarily.
