An indictment filed Thursday alleges that Matt Weiss, a former NFL and University of Michigan assistant football coach, broke into the computer accounts of thousands of collegiate players in search of intimate pictures and clips.
Matt Weiss Faces Criminal Charges for Alleged University Database Hack
Weiss, who worked for the Baltimore Ravens before starting at the University of Michigan in 2021, was charged with 14 charges of illegal computer access and ten counts of identity theft.
The indictment was filed in federal court in Detroit.
🚨REPORT: Former Michigan & #Ravens coach Matt Weiss has been charged with hacking college athletes’ computer accounts for intimate photos.
Weiss worked for both Jim and John Harbaugh.
According to the indictment, he hacked over 2,000 athletes’ devices for photos & information. pic.twitter.com/azBRJaIbTd
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) March 21, 2025
Weiss was sacked as Michigan’s co-offensive coordinator in 2023 for failing to cooperate with the school’s inquiry into his computer access.
According to the indictment, Weiss got access to databases for over 100 colleges and universities maintained by a third-party vendor between 2015 and 2023. He subsequently gained access to more than 2,000 athletes’ social media, email, and cloud storage accounts.
“Weiss primarily targeted female college athletes,” the indictment claimed. “He explored and targeted these women based on their school, athletic origins, and physical features. His purpose was to get private photos and videos that were never intended to be shared with anybody other than intimate partners.
After more than a decade as an assistant coach for the Ravens under coach John Harbaugh, Weiss transferred to Michigan to work for Harbaugh’s brother, Jim Harbaugh.
Weiss had been under investigation for two years, which was made public. Police searched his Ann Arbor home in January 2023, just before he was sacked.
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If convicted, Weiss could face up to five years in prison for each illegal computer access conviction, with a mandatory two-year minimum for each identity theft offense. The case emphasizes the seriousness of cybercrimes, particularly those that violate personal privacy.
The charges against Weiss have sent tremors across the athletic and academic fields. As the legal process proceeds, it serves as an acute example of the significance of protecting personal information in the digital world.
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