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Michigan to fight NCAA allegations in Connor Stalions scandal, per report
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Michigan said it will not enter into a negotiated resolution with the NCAA over allegations of wrongdoing in the Connor Stalions-led advanced scouting and sign-stealing scheme, according to a report by Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
The school made this clear in a 137-page document, a portion of which Yahoo Sports has obtained. Michigan’s response to the NCAA that was sent earlier this month refutes many of the alleged rules violations and accuses the NCAA of “grossly overreaching” and “wildly overcharging” the football program without credible evidence that some staff members knew of Stalions’ illegal in-person scouting system.
In the document, Michigan vehemently defended former head coach Jim Harbaugh, current head coach Sherrone Moore and several staff members. The school even defended Stalions, a low-level assistant who orchestrated the elaborate sign-stealing system that was in place during the same season that the Wolverines won the 2023 national championship.
Michigan claims that the sign-stealing system didn’t make a credible difference in its success in 2023, saying it had “minimal relevance to competition.” The school also said the system’s relevance to the team’s success was not credibly proven by NCAA investigators and that the allegations should be treated as a minor violation.
A spokesperson for the NCAA confirmed that it received Michigan’s response, but it declined to provide additional details and also refused to confirm the document that Yahoo Sports has obtained.
A Michigan spokesperson has declined comment because of the ongoing nature of the investigation, and a Big Ten official also declined comment.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
