Michigan football, Connor Stalions and the NCAA: Frequently asked questions, facts and more

The Michigan Wolverines are wrapped up in another national storyline, this time revolving around allegations of illegal sign-stealing spearheaded by analyst Connor Stalions, who has been placed on paid suspension by the university.

With a lot of misinformation and social media bluster around the story, we decided to compile a list of frequently asked questions to best explain what’s going on at Michigan.

1. Sign-stealing is not illegal, so why is Michigan under investigation?

Sign-stealing is a common and accepted practice in the sport. If a coaching staff notices that team X typically runs a play out of Y-formation and has a sign for it, there is nothing against the rules in deciphering that and using the information to build a game plan and make adjustments. Doing this through TV copy and coaches film is legal and within the rules.

What Michigan is accused of goes a step further than that. Teams in the Big Ten and across college football are alleging that U-M was scouting teams in person and filming their sidelines to get an advanced look at their sideline and signals. This is said to be a potential violation of two rules – one that prohibits advanced in-person scouting on games Michigan was not involved in, and using technology to aid in the deciphering of signals.

2. Who is Connor Stalions?

The alleged ringleader is Michigan analyst Connor Stalions, who worked as a volunteer assistant with the program before being hired in an official capacity in 2022.

Among the skills that Stalions listed in his now-deleted LinkedIn profile were “identifying the opponent’s most likely course of action and most dangerous course of action” and “identifying and exploiting critical vulnerabilities and centers of gravity in the opponent scouting process.”

Stalions was at the Naval Academy from 2013-16 and worked as a student assistant with the Navy football program. From 2015-22, he was stationed in California at a military base while flying back and forth to Michigan games on his own dime, serving as a volunteer.

After a report from ESPN dropped on Oct. 20 naming Stalions as the person of interest in the case, he deactivated his LinkedIn, X and Instagram accounts.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Johnson put out an article that dove deeper into Stalion’s background on Oct. 25, which cited text messages to other staffers across the country speaking about his relationships with Michigan coaches and was said to have had a 500-600 page “Michigan Manifesto” on his computer that detailed his plan to one day lead the program.

3. What is Stalions alleged to have done?

According to a report from ESPN on Monday afternoon, Stalions purchased tickets in his own name for more than 30 games over the last three seasons at 11 different Big Ten schools, in addition to potential future College Football Playoff opponents in Georgia, Clemson, Tennessee and others, per more recent reports. A 12th Big Ten school was identified, too. Stalions forwarded the tickets he bought to at least three different people in different areas of the country, and the NCAA is expected to receive video evidence this week of people in seats that Stalions purchased using cell phones to capture sideline footage.

Stalions purchased tickets to Saturday’s game between Penn State and Ohio State with tickets on both sidelines. They went unused. The seat locations at the games he purchased tickets for were typically around the 45-yard line high enough to get a clear view of the sideline. Stalions name and credit card were used to make the purchases before being transferred to other people. The Michigan staffer deactivated his Venmo account earlier this week.

Michigan suspended Stalions with pay on Friday pending the findings of the investigation.

4. Who knew about this and where did the money come from?

According to U-M, Stalions was paid $55k per year, leading to questions about how one could afford thousands of dollars in tickets bought over the last three years. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Stalions funded it on his own given his past activity of footing the bill on his own to volunteer. It also could be very unlikely.

Many have assumed that there would be no way that Michigan coaches would be unaware of such a scheme, and there are several photos and videos of Stalions next to U-M coordinators on the sideline in recent seasons. No official evidence has been presented outside of the implications.

A story from The Washington Post on Wednesday night stated that an outside firm presented findings to the NCAA that included a detailed schedule of Michigan’s planned sign-stealing travel, opponent schedules, games that scouts would attend and a travel budget for what each trip would cost. The total cost was expected to be more than $15,000 by sending scouts to 40 games played by 10 opponents. The implication is that Stalions did not work alone, but there was no evidence that directly linked Harbaugh to the alleged behavior.

There is also a question of who the outside firm was working for. It is unclear at this point who granted access or how the information was gathered.

5. What might Michigan’s defense be?

At this point, it seems likely that Michigan’s argument would be that this was a rogue staffer who acted alone in trying to prove his value to the coaching staff by spearheading the operation, though the WaPo article calls that into question. It can also point to two potential loopholes in the NCAA’s rulebook as it pertains to the in-person scouting and film of signs allegation.

The rule – specifically 11.6.1 – against heading to other schools to scout future opponents was put into place in 1994 as a cost-cutting measure to make things fair for smaller schools with lesser budgets. The NCAA by-law does also not clearly state who is prohibited from off-campus scouting. If Stalions did not attend the games himself, is Michigan culpable for that? Do the associates he transferred tickets to become Michigan representatives once the ticket changes hands? Would it be any different than a normal fan sending in a sideline video to the coaching staff to use? Given that its reported that student interns may have been involved, that also puts Michigan into a potential corner.

Part of Michigan’s defense would likely state that without a stricter definition of who is allowed to be there, no rules were technically violated. The NCAA, however, may come back and argue that there is a very clear paper trail between the alleged actions and a full-time Michigan staffer.

However, the NCAA itself acknowledged in 2021 that in-person scouting has a “minimal competitive advantage” that doesn’t have much importance in the digital age of high-definition game broadcasts, streams, and coaches film, especially if teams change up their signs, which Ohio State is reported to have done ahead of last year’s 45-23 loss to Michigan in Columbus.

6. Will this have an effect on the 2023 season?

In short, probably not. Michigan has not been served a notice of allegations by the NCAA for “burgergate” yet, let alone anything for illegal sign-stealing. An investigation is open, and the NCAA moves notoriously slow. Michigan would have 90 days to respond, anyway. Even if a notice was served immediately, which has not happened, that would take us into mid-January.

Some have speculated that the Big Ten could step in and make Michigan ineligible for the conference championship, but one would imagine the television networks – who, let’s face it, are the de facto commissioner of the conference now – would have a major issue with that. The same applies to the College Football Playoff, which operates outside the jurisdiction of the NCAA. For all intents and purposes, the 2023 season will roll along as planned.

7. Will U-M have to vacate wins?

Given that the NCAA itself has considered removing the in-person scouting rule due to a minimum competitive advantage, any talk of vacating wins and banners is hyperbole unless a major smoking gun appears elsewhere. Typically, teams that have vacated wins have been forced to do so because of ineligible players.

8. How long will it take to complete an investigation?

It’s impossible to know that. It could be months, it could be years. The likeliest outcome in the here and now appears to be a dismissal and show-casue for Stalions, essentially ending his career in college sports. Michigan could also be subject to a major fine in addition to potential discipline for any coaches or staffers who are found to have involvement in or knowledge of the alleged illegal activity. According to our Chris Balas, the NCAA is expected to be in Ann Arbor on Thursday.

9. Will this affect Jim Harbaugh’s new contract?

Reporting from Balas has indicated that contract talks between Michigan and Harbaugh are paused while sifting through the details of the investigation. The information that comes to light in the coming days and weeks could ultimately determine where that goes. But in the immediate future, it appears that talks have been tabled pending a resolution of the NCAA matter.

10. Could Harbaugh face further discipline from the NCAA?

Michigan has not been served a notice of allegations over the reported recruiting violations that surfaced in the winter, so one would assume that leaves the door open for this investigation to be looped into any potential punishment. Michigan self-imposed a three-game suspension for Harbaugh to start this season, but the NCAA reportedly was not satisfied with it and sought further punishment. That could mean an additional suspension could be on the way in the form of games served.