University of Michigan lands multimillion-dollar fine for sign-stealing scheme

The National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, issued an estimated $20 million in fines to the Michigan Wolverines football team after investigators found overwhelming evidence of an illegal scouting scheme, according to a Friday statement. The Division I Committee on Infractions panel launched a yearslong investigation into a scheme to illegally scout and decode opposing teams' play signals.

What kind of scheme did they run? Former football staffer Connor Stalions orchestrated the scheme to illegally scout opposing teams’ signals. Throughout the 2021, 2022, and 2023 game seasons, Stalions bought tickets to games of opposing teams and had staff members and acquaintances attend. Stalions’ designated attendees would record video of the play signals used by the team scheduled to play Michigan, according to the NCAA report. Stalions used the videos provided by the planted attendees to decipher and document thousands of opponents' signals for other staff members to use, the release said.

There were about 56 instances of in-person scouting of 13 opposing teams, the NCAA said. The panel admitted that the true breadth of the scheme may never be known because of evidence destruction and withholding of information, the release added. Investigators described Stalion’s instructions to staff to clear out emails, photos, texts, and videos, with Stalions himself admitting to disposing of his phone in a pond.

Beyond the illegal scouting, the team and former associates were also penalized for inappropriate recruiting inducements and failure to cooperate with investigators. Former head coach Jim Harbaugh was also punished for violating his responsibilities as head coach, and the school itself was penalized for failing to monitor its football program, according to the NCAA.

WORLD reached out to the University of Michigan’s athletics department on Friday for comment.

What kind of penalties were dished out? Michigan received four years' probation with a flat $50,000 fine, plus 10% of the football program’s budget. Officials also ordered a fine equivalent to the expected loss of all postseason competition revenue sharing for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, plus a fine equaling 10% of the scholarships awarded in Michigan's football program for the 2025-2026 academic year. The NCAA also included measures to throttle the school’s recruiting, like cutting back on school-funded visits for football recruits and a 14-week ban on recruitment communications. Commentators estimate the fine to hit around $20 million.

Individuals involved with the scheme also received show-cause orders, a severe penalty meant to attach a coach’s infractions to their professional record. Stalions and Harbaugh both received yearslong show-cause orders. Current head coach Sherrone Moore, who was an assistant coach at the time of the scheme, received a two-year show-cause order. He was also suspended for three games, including the first game of the 2026-2027 season.

Why no ban? The panel acknowledged that the school’s status as a repeated violator, coupled with the seriousness of the case, presents sufficient grounds for a multi-year postseason ban. However, the panel felt that a ban would unfairly penalize student athletes for the actions of former coaches and staff no longer in the program. An offsetting financial penalty is far more appropriate than a two-year postseason ban, according to the NCAA.