Ryan Day addresses report of being tied to Michigan investigation: 'Ignore the noise'

The Michigan “sign-stealing” scandal has become personal for Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. Last week, Michigan media members and fans alleged Day and his family of hiring investigators, most notably Day’s brother, who is a part-time private investigator, to look into Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal.

According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo!, there are “no known connections” between Day, his family, and the private investigation firm looking into the Michigan sign-stealing scandal. The NCAA was the one to notify the Big Ten of the news on Monday afternoon.

“The NCAA notified the Big Ten on Monday that there are no known connections between Ohio State head coach Ryan Day or his family and the conference’s investigation into Michigan, senior officials at both the association and conference told Yahoo Sports,” Dellenger said in his report.

Although the NCAA cleared Day’s name, it can’t erase the initial accusations. On Tuesday, the 44-year-old head coach addressed these false allegations.

“All you can do is focus on what’s important and what’s important right now is Michigan State,” Day said. “We always say ignore the noise. The noise comes in different ways. We’ve talked about how, for instance, the defense they’ve played really well to this point. Last year, it took a lot of heat for that. They’re getting a lot of positive reinforcement. You have to ignore that noise.

“Ranked No. 1 in the country? That’s noise,” Day said. “There’s a lot of other noise out there. We have to get rid of all that stuff and a team that can get rid of the distractions and the noise, ignore the noise the most this time of year gives them the best chance to play their best football.”

Big Ten waits for Michigan to receive punishment

Dellenger isn’t the only one who’s provided evidence to clear Day’s name. A report from The Washington Post stated an “outside firm” provided information to the NCAA about Michigan stealing signs, bringing this scandal to light.

The Big Ten has not yet punished Michigan for its alleged sign-stealing. The program parted ways with Connor Stalions, the staffer who was at the center of the whirlwind plot. Nonetheless, no other repercussions have been leveled on the Wolverines.

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti’s inaction isn’t due to a lack of power. Petitti has the authority to punish Michigan because of the Big Ten’s sportsmanship cause, which is about the “integrity of competition” in the “competitive arena,” if the discipline is “standard” or “major.”

“Standard action includes a fine not exceeding $10,000 and a suspension of no more than two contests,” Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger and Dan Wetzel wrote. “Major action is anything exceeding those penalties and is subject to approval from the Big Ten executive board of presidents.”

On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.