Report: Ex-Michigan staffer Connor Stalions bought tickets to at least 12 games at Ohio Stadium
After a brief hiatus from being the center of college football headlines, former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions is back in the news. Stalions apparently purchased tickets to a dozen Ohio State home football games across the past three seasons, the Columbus Dispatch reported on Wednesday.
The bulk of the tickets purchased were during the 2022 season, according to the report. Stalions had purchased tickets for a trio of games in the 2023 season, for games against Western Kentucky, Maryland and Penn State.
The ticket for the Penn State game this year went unused, according to the Dispatch, as was a ticket for a 2022 game versus Toledo. And “in nearly all instances” the tickets were either resold or forwarded to another person, meaning Stalions was likely not in attendance personally.
Stalions bought tickets in sections that allowed for easy views of the Ohio State sideline, according to the Dispatch. The vast majority were in sections 20 and 22, directly opposite from the Buckeyes sideline, and mostly in the A level — the lowest in the stadium. Tickets for the Maryland and Penn State game this year were in the C level, higher up in the stadium.
Stalions also reportedly bought tickets for games against Notre Dame, Arkansas State, Toledo, Wisconsin, Rutgers and Michigan in 2022 and for games against Western Kentucky, Maryland and Penn State in 2023, among others, according to the Dispatch
Background on the Michigan sign stealing, impermissible scouting scandal
Michigan has been in hot water since midseason when the NCAA informed the Big Ten that the Wolverines were under investigation for impermissibly scouting future opponents in efforts to better or more efficiently steal signs from opponents. Central to this alleged operation was Connor Stalions, a staffer who was suspended and later resigned.
Stalions alleged operated a network of people that he had attend a number of games of future Michigan opponents, seemingly in an attempt to capture the signals being fed to the players from the sidelines so Stalions — and perhaps others — could decode them to give Michigan a leg up.
Sign stealing, on its purist terms, is legal under NCAA rules. If during a game or from TV copy an opposing staff can decipher another teams signs, they’re well within their right to utilize that information. Where Stalions allegedly crossed the line — and alledgedly flagrantly so — is through advanced scouting and perhaps using electronic equipment to scout, both clear violations of NCAA rules.
The NCAA investigation is still ongoing into the matter and reports have indicated that head coach Jim Harbaugh could face significant punishment as a result of this happening. He has maintained he didn’t know the extent to which Stalions was going to steal signs.
Even still, the Big Ten stepped in and suspended Harbaugh for the final three games of the 2023 regular season, but only during games. Michigan went 3-0 in that stretch and Harbaugh will return to coach his team on Saturday in the Big Ten Championship Game.