Former Michigan head coach and current LA Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh received a 10-year show-cause penalty, which will begin after his existing four-year show-cause order ends on August 7, 2028. Meanwhile, Connor Stalions, who was fired two years ago for orchestrating a sign-stealing scheme, was hit with an 8-year show-cause order.
These show-cause penalties will mean that either of them can not be hired by any NCAA member school, barring them from virtually all athletically related college activities.
The penalties are instituted after the NCAA found evidence of a sign-stealing and scouting scheme orchestrated by the Stalions. The former Michigan advanced scouting lead filmed Michigan’s upcoming opponents and also hired someone to do so in order to identify signals from the opposing team during a game. Electronic equipment was also used to capture opponents’ signals.
While Harbaugh has denied any direct involvement, he was the head coach of the program in the 2023 season, thereby he remains accountable for the action from one of his staff members.
When the allegations were first placed on Harbaugh’s program, the head coach said that he doesn’t believe in this way of trying to win a game of football. He issued the following statement at the time:
“Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal. I was raised with that lesson. I have raised my family on that lesson. I have preached that lesson to the teams I have coached. No one’s perfect. If you stumble, you apologize and you make it right. Today, I do not apologize. I did not participate, was not aware nor complicit in those said allegations. So for me, it’s back to work and attacking with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”
Jim Harbaugh on Michigan’s notice of allegations:
“No one’s perfect. If you stumble, you apologize and make it right. Today, I do not apologize.”
(via @chargers) pic.twitter.com/IIT35We3so
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) August 5, 2024
There are Level I NCAA violations, which are the most severe.
Michigan also faces consequences from NCAA after show-cause order to Jim Harbaugh and Connor Stalions
The University of Michigan is also facing the consequences for what unraveled two years ago. The university faces a multi-million-dollar fine, estimated at $20 million-plus in lost postseason football revenue, according to ESPN.
The following are the additional penalties against the program:
- Four years of probation
- A 25% reduction in official visits during the 2025–2026 recruiting cycle
- A 14-week restriction on recruiting communications
- Financial penalties, including a fine equivalent to 10% of the football program’s budget and scholarship cost equivalents.
It remains to be seen if further penalties are in store for the program.
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