Michigan receives hefty fine in sign-stealing scheme; coach suspension extended

Michigan will lose its share of postseason football revenue for the next two seasons as part of the punishment the NCAA handed down on Friday following its investigation into the school’s advance scouting scheme that ran in the 2021-23 seasons.
The amount of the fine is expected to be considerable, with ESPN reporting the number could be more than $20 million and as much as $25 million given past Big Ten revenues. The exact amount depends, in part, on the postseason success of the conference’s member schools.
In addition, the Wolverines program was placed on four years’ probation and will see a 25 percent reduction in football official visits in the upcoming season. Michigan also will pay a fine of $50,000, plus 10 percent of the budget for the football program, as well as a fine equivalent to 10 percent of the cost of the scholarships for Michigan football players in the 2025-26 academic year.
Michigan was not banned, however, from appearing in postseason games. It also will not be forced to vacate wins, including from its national championship undefeated 2023 season.
The Division I Committee on Infractions panel also suspended head coach Sherrone Moore one game, to be added to Michigan’s self-imposed two-game ban to be served in 2025. Moore will serve the additional game punishment in the 2026 season opener.
Moore, however, is not prohibited from engaging in coaching or other activities during the two-year show-cause period.
Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, now the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, received a 10-year show-cause penalty and then-Wolverines staffer Connor Stalions was handed an eight-year show-cause penalty.
A show-cause penalty acts as a barrier to college coaching in the future. It likely will have no impact on the career of Harbaugh, 61, who signed a reported five-year, $80 million contract with the Chargers when he was hired Jan. 24, 2024.
Harbaugh’s penalty will begin on Aug. 7, 2028, at the conclusion of his four-year show-cause order from a previous case.
Moore was the offensive coordinator in 2023 and reportedly deleted a thread of more than 50 text messages with Stalions, which the NCAA said demonstrated a failure to cooperate with the investigation.
The scandal unfolded following Michigan’s run to the 2023 College Football Playoff title.
During that season, Stalions was accused of operating a sign-stealing scheme by having friends and family attend the games of future opponents and videotape sideline signals.
The NCAA cited Michigan for 11 violations in an August 2024 notice of allegations, including six Level I (the most serious) violations. The school and the NCAA had been working on a final resolution of the matter.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions held a hearing on the case in June.
Moore guided the Wolverines to an 8-5 record (5-4 Big Ten) last season, ending with a 19-13 win against Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31.
Harbaugh led the Chargers to an 11-6 record and a playoff berth last season. They lost 32-12 to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round.
Fourteenth-ranked Michigan opens the season at home against New Mexico on Aug. 30.