In response to the Big Ten, Michigan will say that the sign-stealing probe is an NCAA matter and not a Big Ten matter.
Sources told CBS Sports that Michigan’s response to the Big Ten after being told that the conference may punish the Wolverines as well as coach Jim Harbaugh includes trying to make the continuing sign-stealing scandal look like an NCAA problem instead of a breach of the Big Ten’s rules on good sportsmanship.
So, Michigan will say that the problem should be taken care of by the NCAA’s ongoing enforcement investigation.
Michigan had until Wednesday to respond to the Big Ten’s notice of possible disciplinary action within the scandal involving ex low-level employee Connor Stalions. The Big Ten gave Michigan proof on Monday.
The Wolverines are going to have to show proof that at least three Big Ten schools had Detroit’s signals in 2022.
According to The Athletic, Michigan says that Ohio State, Purdue, as well as Rutgers shared their signs last season.
It is not toward NCAA rules to get signals throughout games or by watching game film while getting ready for an opponent.
However, teams aren’t permitted to scout opponents ahead of time or record signals in person. It’s been that way for almost 30 years.
In the event that Harbaugh is suspended, there will be swift court action, an injunction, as well as an interim restraining order, a person familiar with the matter told CBS Sports on Monday. It’s not clear if that claim is a component of Michigan’s answer to the Big Ten.
There is nothing in the Central Ten Sportsmanship Policy that says stealing signs is wrong. That could be on purpose, since the word “sportsmanship” can mean a lot of different things.
The policy does say, though, that director Tony Petitti has “exclusive authority” when there has been a violation of sportsmanship.
The worker said he just recently gave the papers to Michigan. They included the Wolverines’ insignia and the plays that go with them, as well as pictures of text messages between staff members at other Big Ten schools.
He told The Associated Press that he didn’t want to be named because he was worried that the news would hurt his coaching job.
A person from the Big Ten said that information from a few coaches and teams was put together on the spreadsheet.
He also said that he told Michigan about it last week as he thought it could assist Jim Harbaugh’s troubled program.
He thinks that Harbaugh and his teachers are being wrongly blamed over the actions of a bad employee.
The schools in the conference may have broken the Big Ten’s rules on good behavior, which could mean punishment from the commissioner’s office. That could happen with Harbaugh’s team too.
No. 2 Michigan (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) is being looked into by the NCAA for a possible illegal scheme to steal signs and watch players in person.
Connor Stalions, a former low-level employee, is said to have gone to opponents’ games and sent people to record video which was used to figure out what their in-game signs meant.
The incident has cast a shadow over Harbaugh’s squad as it tries to win its third straight conference title and its first national crown since 1997. The game is on Saturday at No. 9 Penn State.
Sign-stealing isn’t against NCAA rules, but in-person scouting is, and some of the accusations against Michigan point to a planned and well-funded scheme.
Harbaugh has said he didn’t know anything about the plan, and the college says it’s is helping the NCAA.
The NCAA told the Big Ten about its latest finds regarding the Michigan sign-stealing investigation.
Sources tell Yahoo Sports that the conference is still thinking about suspending head coach Jim Harbaugh for a number of games while the school gets ready to sue.
Sources say that the NCAA’s results don’t link Harbaugh to the physically scouting and recording of opponents’ sidelines.
This is an important piece of evidence that the school and coach would need to have in order to sue the league.
Sources who were aware of the talks say that the school received a few days over the weekend to respond to the meeting before any punishments are given. The problem should be solved by the final day of the week, or as early as Wednesday.