One of the biggest questions from the Michigan sign-stealing scandal was whether alleged orchestrator Connor Stalions managed to sneak onto a team’s sideline in order scout a Wolverines opponent. We finally have our answer.
The NCAA has not yet announced findings of its investigation, but ESPN’s Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel obtained a draft of the notice of allegations against Michigan. The documents state that investigators used ticket information, film, photographs and interviews to determine that Stalions scouted at least 13 different Michigan opponents on at least 58 occasions from 2021 through 2023.
One of those occasions came during Michigan State’s season-opening game against Central Michigan last season. Not long after the sign-stealing scandal erupted, some photos went viral that showed a person who resembles Stalions wearing Chippewas gear on the CMU sideline during the team’s 31-7 loss to Michigan State on Sept. 1, 2023.
According to the NCAA’s draft, that person was Stalions. The former Wolverines staffer was found to have worn a bench pass, Central Michigan coaching gear and a disguise, in order to go unnoticed. The draft does not reveal how Stalions obtained the bench pass but states that the conduct “seriously undermined or threatened the integrity of the NCAA collegiate model.”
The idea of Stalions infiltrating another team’s sideline to spy on one of Michigan’s future opponents initially sounded farfetched. Like many others, Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain seemed to buy into it, and for good reason.
The NCAA’s draft also accuses Jim Harbaugh of committing Level I violations by not fully cooperating with the Stalions investigation, though the Los Angeles Chargers coach issued a defiant response to those allegations on Monday.
