The University of Michigan's alleged sign-stealing operation included both video evidence of electronics prohibited by the NCAA to steal signs and a significant paper trail in the form of Big Ten Conference game tickets purchased and distributed to others, sources told ESPN.
Connor Stalions, the Wolverines suspended defensive analyst at the center of the NCAA's sign-stealing probe, purchased tickets in his own name for more than 30 games over the past three years at 11 different Big Ten schools, sources at those schools told ESPN. "Stalions forwarded the tickets he bought to at least three different people in different areas of the country, sources say, which hints at the breadth of the operation," wrote ESPN's Pete Thamel and Mark Schlabach.
Moreover, according to Thamell and Schlabach, the NCAA is expected to receive video evidence this week of illegal technology used in scouting tied to tickets purchased by Stalions. An opposing Big Ten school looked up in-stadium surveillance video from a game earlier this year, and sources said the person in the seat of the ticket purchased by Stalions held his smartphone up and appeared to film the home team's sideline the entire game.
Sources confirmed to ESPN that Stalions purchased tickets across from each bench at Saturday's game in Columbus, Ohio, between Penn State and Ohio State — two teams on Michigan's remaining 2023 schedule. According to sources, the tickets purchased by Stalions were not used Saturday — the day after Stallions was suspended with pay by Michigan.
Related: Michigan Suspends Defensive Analyst Linked to Scouting, Sign-Stealing Scandal
All of the games to which Stalions purchased tickets involved either one or two the teams that the Wolverines were to face later in the season, according to sources.
One source told ESPN that Stalions bought tickets to five different games at that school over the past three years. Another said it was four games over the past two years. A third source said it was nine games over the past three years. Tickets at multiple venues were bought via online retailers StubHub or SeatGeek. Ticket transfers between Stalions and others showed up through ticket data tracking. Some of the purchases were single tickets, others were for multiple people, and sometimes seats were bought on both sides of the stadium near midfield, Thamel and Schlabach reported.
"The ticket purchases fall into a seat location pattern — somewhere around the 45-yard line and raised up enough for a clear view of the opposite sideline," they wrote. "One source said Stalions bought some tickets across from the home sideline in order to scout the home team, which Michigan played that season. But the source added there have also been tickets purchased on the other side of the stadium facing the sideline of the opponent, including one purchase across from the visiting sideline in the weeks before Michigan played Ohio State."
Michigan is ranked No. 2 in The Associated Press poll and is the current betting favorite to win the national title. In going 8-0 so far, the Wolverines have outscored their opponents 325 to 47.
Officials around the Big Ten are upset, according to sources, as allegations of this type of coordinated and orchestrated capturing of signals looms as distinctly different allegations than the gamesmanship of attempting to decode signals from across the field during games. In-game stealing is not prohibited under NCAA rules.
The conference itself said this Monday: "The Big Ten conference considers the integrity of competition to be of the utmost importance. Due to the ongoing nature of the NCAA investigation, the conference has no comment at this time."
The first NCAA rule in question is scouting in opposing stadiums, which has been in place since 1994, Thamel and Schlabach reported. The second potential rule being broken, evidence of which had not been reported prior, could mean that Michigan violated Article 11 subsection H of the NCAA football rulebook: "Any attempt to record, either through audio or video means, any signals given by an opposing player, coach or other team personnel is prohibited."
Stalions is a former captain in the United States Marine Corps who boasted on LinkedIn of his knack for "identifying and exploiting critical vulnerabilities and centers of gravity in the opponent scouting process." He'd been a volunteer at Michigan, according to LinkedIn, from 2015 to 2022 before being hired full time in May 2022. After ESPN identified him as a central part of the probe, he erased multiple social media accounts.
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has denied knowledge of the alleged sign-stealing operation.
