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Central Michigan investigating photos allegedly showing Michigan staffer Connor Stalions on sideline vs. MSU

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•10/31/23•

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Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh next to analyst Connor Stalions
© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tuesday, a photo made its way around social media that allegedly showed suspended Michigan analyst Connor Stalions on the sidelines during this year’s Central Michigan vs. Michigan State game. The man was in CMU gear while wearing sunglasses — during a night game — with a pass that said “VB” on it, which was meant for the visiting bench.

Tuesday afternoon, Central Michigan released a statement on the situation and said it’s investigating the photo.

CMU athletics director Amy Folan released a statement on the matter, saying the university is looking into whether Stalions was on the sidelines that day. According to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg and Pete Thamel, the “VB” pass allows access to an area between the 20-yard lines for a certain amount of people for each game.

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Michigan State knows about the situation and is looking at “possible next steps,” ESPN reported.

“We are in the process of determining the facts surrounding them,” Folan said in a statement. “As this process is ongoing, we have no further comment at this time.”

Central Michigan played Michigan State in East Lansing on Sept. 2 to start the season — one day before Michigan opened its season against East Carolina. The Spartans defeated the Chippewas 31-7 in that matchup.

More on the investigation into Michigan, Connor Stalions

The NCAA opened an investigation into Michigan earlier this month, stemming from in-person scouting rules. At the center of the inquiry, according to the initial report from Yahoo! Sports, was a nearly 30-year-old rule that states “off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited.” Michigan announced Stalions’ suspension shortly thereafter, pending the results of the investigation.

Multiple reports then said Stalions paid for tickets to multiple Big Ten opponents and possible College Football Playoff teams. In fact, one of the people Stalions paid spoke out in an interview with ESPN’s Dan Murphy and said they were paid “a couple hundred dollars‘ to attend games.

The man said he went to games at Rutgers and Penn State last season in addition to the Penn State vs. UMass game this year. However, he didn’t stay the entire time due to bad weather. He was also planning to be at Saturday’s game between Penn State and Indiana, but didn’t wind up going.

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As for what’s next regarding the investigation, Thamel said it’s “unlikely” the Big Ten takes any “imminent action” against Michigan. The conference confirmed it alerted other conference teams their signs may have been compromised when it released a statement on the matter.