By Christopher Campanella 
Photo Credit: Zach Bolinger / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images file
As of December 2nd, the head coach of the University of Michigan football, third in the nation, Jim Harbaugh, has received, and served, a three-game suspension, taking him out of the last three games of the regular season. The suspension, imposed by the Big 10 Conference, came following a series of sign-stealing allegations against the Michigan coaching staff. The allegations revolve around attending opponents’ games to gather information about both the offensive and defensive hand signals on opposing teams’ sidelines. Such actions are in violation of NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1, which states: “Off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited.” Following the NCAA investigation, one Michigan staff member has become the prime focus.
Connor Stalions, the person of interest, has worked as an off-field analyst for the Wolverines since May of 2022, previously working as a volunteer coach. The investigation found that Stalions purchased tickets to football games of future Michigan opponents and would send individuals to record the sideline, an action that goes against the NCAA bylaws. The Big Ten described it as “an organized, extensive, years-long in-person advance scouting scheme.” Tony Pettiti, commissioner of the Big Ten conference confirmed the existence of a “master spreadsheet” with opponents’ signs along with “monetary amounts associated with certain assigned games,” a system used to rank the importance of opponent team/signs. At the time of Stalions’ resignation, he stated that neither Harbaugh nor any member of the University of Michigan football coaching staff instructed him to break any rules.
A similar occurrence of sign stealing occurred in 2015 when Baylor assistant coach Jeff Lebby was on the sideline for an Oklahoma game against Tulsa, with Oklahoma being an upcoming opponent of Baylor. He received a half-game suspension. The scale of Lebby’s operation was smaller than the scale of Stalions’.
Harbaugh’s suspension has conjured responses from the likes of Tom Brady and the Michigan team, both in support of Harbaugh. One gray area within the investigation is Harbaugh’s degree of responsibility within the operation. Supporters of Harbaugh claim that Stalions was a rogue employee, but critics of his coaching staff have stated that that, as head coach of the team, he should have been aware of what his staff was doing.
Per CBS, Harbaugh aimed to attend court on Friday the 24th in search of a restraining order that would allow him to coach the remaining two games of the regular season, those against Penn State and Ohio State University. The proceedings came following a complaint filed in the state court by the University of Michigan just hours after the suspension was announced. That being said, as of Thursday, November 23rd, the University of Michigan had canceled all legal actions.
Regarding ending the proceedings, the University of Michigan said: “The [Big Ten] Conference agreed to close its investigation, and the University and Coach Harbaugh agreed to accept the three-game suspension. Coach Harbaugh, with the University’s support, decided to accept this sanction to return the focus to our student-athletes and their performance on the field.” Although it is not yet apparent why the University of Michigan withdrew the case, per ESPN, it is believed that the NCAA made two significant discoveries within the case, and that there was “evidence suggesting that a university booster helped fund the impermissible sign-stealing operation run by former staff member Connor Stalions. Michigan also received evidence that suggested Partridge(former running back coach) was tampering with the ongoing investigation.”While the Big 10 investigation has closed, the NCAA investigation is still ongoing. Harbaugh has garnered public support from both his players and coaching staff throughout the investigation. After the University of Michigan, Ohio State University football game, interim head coach, Sherrone Moore, said “We were prepared to win this game for Coach Harbaugh”. The remaining suspension will no longer have implications on the Wolverines team as they beat the final three opponents of the regular season, going 3-0 while Harbaugh was suspended.