What Happened in the Michigan Sign Stealing Saga?
A Beginners Guide
If you are new to college football, you may have come across the Michigan sign stealing drama. Netflix recently made a documentary about the affair and if you have spoken to an Ohio State fan, I have no doubt they will have mentioned it! But if you find yourself asking “What happened in the Michigan sign stealing saga?” the below is for you.
The Background
I would recommend the Netflix documentary if you have access as it gives a great overview. But I will summarise the key points below.
In 2023, a staff member from the Michigan Wolverines were accused of running an elaborate sign stealing campaign across a period of 2021 to 2023. The staff member, Connor Stalions, was accused of forming a web of scouting partners, paying for them to attend competing-team games and filming various coaching signs.
The charge was that he used the film to interpret the signs, giving the Wolverines a competitive advantage in games. The wider implication is that senior members of the Wolverines coaching staff were aware, if the knowledge was used in preparation for games.
As context if you are new to the game, there is a lot going on during a football match and coaches need to regularly pass instructions onto their team captains on the field. Given the noise in the stadium and to try and shield the information from the opposition, hand signals and signs are used.
Embed from Getty ImagesIs Stealing Signs in College Football Illegal?
If a team watches the opposition’s signals in a game and is able to interpret them, that is not illegal. What is illegal under NCAA rules is the in-person scouting, off-campus of another team and the recording of their training/signs. You can watch film on the opposition but it must be official film from official channels.
Therefore, the sign-stealing scheme that Stalions was accused of running, would have been in violation of the rules. The statistic quoted by the NCAA in their investigation was that they found “56 instances of off-campus, in-person scouting of 13 future regular-season opponents” over 52 games over three seasons (2021-23).
What Happened After the Accusation?
After news broke that the NCAA were investigating, Stalions was initially suspended by the Wolverines and later resigned.
Michigan confirmed they would cooperate but there was a strong sense that they were not doing so in good faith. In fact, they were labelled in public statements as being obstructive to the investigation and individuals accused of covering up elements of the scandal.
Naturally, competitor teams in the Big Ten were outraged and provided the NCAA with any evidence they could. The Big Ten took action and suspended Head Coach, Jim Harbaugh, from the final 3 games of the regular season.
As it happened, 2023 was a good footballing year for Michigan and the loss of their Head Coach for 3 games didn’t stop them going on to win the Big Ten Championship and then the National Championship.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Sanctions
Since 2023, the investigation has rumbled on in the background but finally concluded in August 2025. The punishments handed out were:
- Michigan must forfeit over $20 million in projected postseason revenue (2025–2026), pay a $50,000 fine. They also face reductions of 10% in both football budget and scholarships
- The program also faces a 25% reduction in official recruiting visits, a 14-week ban on recruiting communications, and four years of probation
- Connor Stalions received an eight-year show-cause order. This basically bans him from taking on a new role in college football, unless the programme he is going to wins a new appeal.
- Jim Harbaugh received a ten-year show-cause order, which will commence after his current four-year order ends in August 2028.
- Denard Robinson (former assistant director of player personnel) received a three-year show-cause.
- Current Head Coach and then Assistant, Sherrone Moore received a two-year show-cause, plus a three-game suspension. Two games were self-imposed during the 2025 season, and one additional game will be served in 2026.
There was talk of a post season ban but the NCAA deemed that current athletes should not be punished for historic actions. Similarly, the NCAA deemed that the criteria for stripping wins/championships was not met under their current rules.
Making Sense of It All
Many fans will be left feeling deflated by the sanctions handed out. There were calls for the Wolverines to be stripped of their 2023 National Title. Whilst this was not within the boundaries of the NCAA’s power for this type of infraction, many will view that title with an asterisk.
This might be unfair as it is difficult to quantify the extent that the actions had on their eventual success. The fact that they won big games without their coach is suggestive that the team achieved what it did on merit. We will never know.
There is a sense that the obstructiveness of the university and individuals was almost as bad as the actual crime. The perceived lack of cooperating in good faith factored in to the penalties.
Michigan is a well funded programme so the fines will be seen as unhelpful but are not a death knell to the programme. Michigan are however appealing the sanctions.
The personal penalties carry varying degrees of bite. Jim Harbaugh’s show cause effectively rules him out of a return to college football. But given he is currently coaching in the NFL it is questionable if he would want to come back anyway. Sherrone Moore is showing no signs of leaving Michigan anytime soon so unlikely to cause an issue. They had already pencilled in two of his three game ban. Connor Stalions’ ban will likely be a blow to him -he is currently coaching in high school.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhy Use Signs?
The whole saga has also refreshed the point of why signs are still used in college football. The NFL has used in-helmet communication for many years. This has never got off the ground at the college level due to costs across the various programmes and to maintain fairness, but is now back on the agenda.
All in all a colourful saga that probably rumbled on for too long. Michigan fans will want to forget it but I doubt Ohio State fans will let them!
