The Big Ten Conference has confirmed an NCAA investigation into “sign-stealing” by the University of Michigan football program, allegedly rooted in would-be impermissible in-person scouting of opponents.
“Late Wednesday afternoon, the Big Ten Conference and University of Michigan were notified by the NCAA that the NCAA was investigating allegations of sign stealing by the University of Michigan football program,” the Big Ten said in a statement released Thursday afternoon, as reported by Sports Illustrated. (Yahoo Sports broke the story earlier in the day.) “The Big Ten Conference has notified Michigan State University and future opponents. The Big Ten Conference considers the integrity of competition to be of utmost importance and will continue to monitor the investigation. The Conference will have no further comment at this time.”
The Big Ten Conference has confirmed an NCAA investigation into “sign-stealing” by the University of Michigan football program, allegedly rooted in would-be impermissible in-person scouting of opponents.
“Late Wednesday afternoon, the Big Ten Conference and University of Michigan were notified by the NCAA that the NCAA was investigating allegations of sign stealing by the University of Michigan football program,” the Big Ten said in a statement released Thursday afternoon, as reported by Sports Illustrated. (Yahoo Sports broke the story earlier in the day.) “The Big Ten Conference has notified Michigan State University and future opponents. The Big Ten Conference considers the integrity of competition to be of utmost importance and will continue to monitor the investigation. The Conference will have no further comment at this time.”
Rutgers and two more of Michigan's 2023 opponents have questioned Michigan's methods so far this season, according to SI. Michigan State, scheduled to host the 7-0 Wolverines on Saturday, considered backing out of the game over the potential scandal engulfing their cross-state rivals, citing concern over the health and safety of MSU players. The game will be played.
Sign-stealing, in and of itself, is not against NCAA rules, and coaches go to great lengths to prevent being victimized by the practice — for example, covering their mouths on the sidelines to thwart lip-readers or barricading their practice fields to discourage spies. However, in-person scouting of opponents and using video or audio methods for recording signals has been outlawed since 1994. Michigan is alleged to have employed a vast network of scouts.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh, who served a three-game suspension to open the season for his role in potential recruiting violations during the 2020 COVID-19 dead period, released a statement through the Michigan athletic department regarding these new allegations. "I want to make it clear that I, and my staff, will fully cooperate with the investigation into this matter," Harbaugh said. "I do not have any knowledge or information regarding the University of Michigan football program illegally stealing signals, nor have I directed any staff member or others to participate in an off-campus scouting assignment. I have no awareness of anyone on our staff having done that or having directed that action."
"We’ll see where this goes, but a cloud of doubt has formed over the No. 2 team in the nation," Pat Forde of SI wrote Thursday. "The scene at Spartan Stadium on Saturday night already figured to be charged to a potentially toxic degree after the postgame brawl that marred last year’s game in Ann Arbor. Now Michigan is walking in as an object of outright mockery.
"And if the allegations wind up being substantiated, that cloud will dump a repugnant rain on the Wolverines. This would be cheating at a frankly obnoxious level, and no amount of hollow institutional rhetoric about integrity would whitewash it.
"It also could paint Michigan as unapologetic recidivists. If the program was out committing violations while deep into a previous investigation for other alleged violations — impermissible recruiting contact during the COVID-19 dead period, using too many on-field coaches and impermissible monitoring of offseason workouts —that would be a complete disdain for the rules manual. And it could leave the program vulnerable to enhanced penalties."
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Potential penalties for in-person scouting aren't clear, Forde continued, but damage to Michigan's reputation as the winningest program in college football history would likely be signficant.
"If almighty Michigan, with its large contingent of blue-chip recruits and future NFL players and well-paid coaches, is stooping to spying on the likes of East Carolina, Bowling Green, UNLV, Rutgers, Nebraska, Minnesota and Indiana, that’s just shameful," Forde wrote. "If there is such a scheme, everyone involved in it should be embarrassed."
Forde called into question the Wolverines' back-to-back Big Ten championships in 2021 and ’22, asking, were they "due to talent and attitude and teamwork? Or because of spying and cutting corners? Were those big second halves against Ohio State the past two seasons the result of exerting their will, or did they gain some in-game intelligence via nefarious means? When a program rises from 21–11 from 2018 to ’20 to 32–3 from ’21 to ’23, maybe it’s not all simply the result of hard work and clean living."
He wrote that the Big Ten may wield the biggest hammer in such a case.Â
"The NCAA has proved itself starkly incapable of enforcing many of its bylaws," Forde wrote. "If Michigan is found to have blatantly cheated by spying on other teams via impermissible scouting, then the Big Ten itself should take action — because the Wolverines would be directly impacting other league members on the field of competition. Conferences have become comfortable sidestepping rules enforcement and leaving it to the NCAA, but this is one instance where that would be an unacceptable path by the Big Ten."
