Michigan sent documents to Big Ten showing Ohio State, Rutgers, Purdue communicated over Wolverines signals, per report

In a report from the AP on Monday, a former Big Ten staffer told them that they shared documents with Michigan proving opponents had their signs. Those documents have been sent to the Big Ten and exactly which schools were involved has been revealed.

According to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg and Tom Van Haren, three Big Ten schools worked together and compiled all of Michigan’s signs. Purdue was reportedly on the receiving end from Ohio State and Rutgers for last season’s Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis.

“Sources to @TomVH and me: B1G received documents from Michigan that U-M says show Ohio State, Rutgers and Purdue communicated about U-M’s signals in 2022,” Rittenberg said via X. “Docs show Purdue, which faced U-M in B1G champ game, got offense signals from Ohio St + D signals from Rutgers, per sources.”

Michigan played at Rutgers on Nov. 5, 2022, nearly a month before the Big Ten Championship game against Purdue. Of course, Ohio State was the game before in a historic win for the Wolverines at the Shoe. Both Big Ten East opponents decided to pass along information on Michigan to Purdue, likely hoping they would come out on top.

In what was a one-point game heading into the second half, Michigan wound up pulling away against Purdue in the 2022 Big Ten Championship. The win gave them a spot in the College Football Playoff, where they faced off against TCU. A report stated the Horned Frogs were well aware of Michigan’s sign-stealing and prepared against it.

So, are the reported actions by Ohio State, Rutgers, and Purdue illegal? It’s not really known. At the very least, the documents have been passed along to the NCAA and if it’s deemed illegal, a follow-up could come down the road.

“A Big Ten source told ESPN that the materials have been passed along to the NCAA,” Rittenberg said. “As @Johnubacon reported, unknown whether the signal-sharing between league teams violates the Big Ten’s sportsmanship policy, but could merit follow-up.”

Looking at the short-term effects of Michigan sending those documents to the Big Ten, there are not expected to be any. We are still waiting on any kind of discipline coming down on the program before their game against Penn State on Saturday.

“A source told ESPN that the information the league received isn’t expected to impact how the Big Ten proceeds with Michigan and potential discipline under the sportsmanship policy, which could come later this week,” Rittenberg said.