Chris Balas explains why Michigan will prolong case, potential outcomes

As the NCAA plans out its next steps in the sign-stealing case against Michigan, the question is how the Wolverines will respond. In addition to the allegations reported throughout the last week, the Wolverines are also dealing with recruiting violations that led to a self-imposed suspension of Jim Harbaugh to start the season.

As for what the punishment will be for the latest inquiry, The Wolverine’s Chris Balas doesn’t expect anything to the extreme of vacating games. However, he wondered if the punishment is dictated by the plan with Harbaugh — and Michigan could prolong things.

NCAA policies normally start with a notice of allegations, which gives the school 90 days to respond, according to On3’s Andy Staples. Then, the NCAA gets 30 days to respond to the response. All told, that could be about four months before it goes to the committee on infractions.

“Everybody’s talking about vacating games and stuff like that,” Balas told Staples on Andy Staples On3. “That usually doesn’t happen unless there are ineligible players and things like that. Could this be a situation where at the end of the year, they say, okay, we’re going to offer up Jim Harbaugh, he goes back to the pros anyway and the NCAA like Tennessee says, ‘Alright, your head coach isn’t there anymore,’ and that’s enough? Maybe we slap on some recruiting restrictions or something like that. Who knows? But nobody can predict these things right when it comes to the NCAA.”

As Balas noted, the proceeding chain of events comes down to what the NCAA presents to Michigan. Harbaugh and athletic director Warde Manuel said the university would cooperate with the investigation, and the evidence the NCAA has will likely dictate what happens next.

“There’s absolutely no way, I think, if they were to approach them and say, ‘Okay, well, this is what we’re doing. We’re going to make an exception in your case,’ would Michigan say sure, we’re fine with that,” Balas said. “I’m sure they would take it to court. You know what? Go out and win the Big Ten and win their championship or whatever, and go from there.

“But as of right now, based on what we’ve heard, if they are saying okay, if they get their notice of allegations tomorrow or next week or whatever, then they will proceed accordingly. But they want to hear right now what the evidence is from the NCAA.”