ESPN insider updates likelihood of Michigan postseason ban in Connor Stalions, sign-stealing case

Two days before the Netflix documentary on Connor Stalions premiered, the NCAA delivered its Notice of Allegations to Michigan related to the sign-stealing case. It’s the latest step in the investigation, which began during the 2023 season and saw Jim Harbaugh serve a three-game suspension from the Big Ten.

Now that UM has the Notice of Allegations, all eyes are on a potential punishment. Some wonder if a postseason ban could be in the cards, but ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg said that doesn’t seem likely at this point.

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Rittenberg outlined the range of penalties Michigan could be facing during an appearance on SportsCenter with Kevin Negandhi Tuesday evening. He noted some Level II violations against Sherrone Moore, but said a postseason ban is “increasingly unlikely” as things stand.

“The key to watch, Kevin, is Sherrone Moore,” Rittenberg said. “Most of the people involved in the investigation that were named in the Notice of Allegations are no longer at Michigan, including Connor Stalions, of course. But Sherrone Moore, who’s the head coach, is named in there as far as Level II violations. He could face a suspension, he could face penalties related to recruiting.

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“Now, as far as the program goes, it could be a wide range of things. A fine, maybe a postseason ban – although that seems increasingly unlikely with the way the NCAA is handling these infractions cases. And in the documentary you mentioned, Connor Stalions does face a three-year ban from coaching. He still very much wants to coach, and he intends to challenge that ban, according to the documentary.”

Michigan confirmed it received the Notice of Allegations on Sunday, but didn’t disclose any details. A draft previously reported by ESPN said Moore deleted texts from Stalions after news broke of the scandal, and the coach recently said he “looks forward” to their release.

“The NCAA can confirm that a Notice of Allegations has been distributed to the school and involved parties in the Michigan investigation,” UM said. “To protect the integrity of the infractions process as the case progresses forward, the NCAA will not provide any further comment on the specifics included.”

Stalions allegedly ran an operation to obtain signals from Michigan’s opponents and was the subject of Netflix’s latest entry into the Untold series. He resigned from his position as an analyst for the Wolverines late in the 2023 season and recently landed a job at a Detroit (Mich.) Mumford as defensive coordinator.