It was supposed to be a year of celebration for the Michigan football program. 2023 saw the program win its first national championship since 1997. Even though they had lost key pieces like quarterback JJ McCarthy and head coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL, fans still had a lot to look forward to. Specifically new head coach Sherrone Moore, who had led the Wolverines to a key win over their rival Ohio State.
However, recent discoveries have left everything up in the air. Specifically how legit was the 2023 national championship? It’s common knowledge that Michigan staffer Connor Stalions used an elaborate system of video-taping to steal opposing teams’ signs. Which is a major violation of NCAA rules. This led to Harbaugh being suspended three games by the Big Ten. However new details have emerged that have put the whole program in jeopardy. So what details have been revealed about the scandal, and could Michigan be facing the harshest penalty the NCAA can give, “the death penalty.”
What Are the New Allegations Against Michigan?
All the controversy surrounding Michigan stems from the discovery of Stalions’ sign-stealing system. what Stalions would do is buy tickets to games with teams Michigan was going to play and film their sidelines. He would then use these videos to attempt to decode the signals the sideline was sending to the field. This would allow Michigan to know what play was coming and be able to come up with a perfect counterplay. It was found that this was done 53 times over three years.
As mentioned in the intro, this had been common knowledge, and it was assumed this was dealt with during the season. Stalions resigned when the scandal became public, and Harbaugh was suspended during Michigan’s most important stretch. It seemed like the situation had been dealt with. Yet this new report shows this scandal runs much deeper than just these two.
Along with Stalions and Harbaugh, three more people have been named for being involved. Those being Michigan staffers Chris Patridge, Denard Robinson, and new Michigan head coach Sherron Moore. Patridge and Robinson are facing Level 1 violation, the most serious you can get, while Moore is only facing a Level 2 violation. This is all related to them hindering the NCAA investigation for deleting text messages and hard drive information about what was going on with the Stalions system. The program itself is also facing Level 1 violations for a “pattern of noncompliance”.
What Are The Grounds for the “Death Penalty”
To understand if what Michigan did is grounds to be given the death penalty, we have to first understand what it entails and where it’s been used before. To start with what happens when a school gets the death penalty? The basic premise is that the program is barred from competing for at least one season. Some other punishments depend on severity including, loss of scholarships, fines, and loss of voting power. It’s the severe penalty the NCAA can hand down.
This penalty has only been given out five times in NCAA history. However, only one college football program has received it. That being SMU. While under probation by the NCAA it was found the program violated several NCAA rules regarding player payment. It was found that SMU had given out $61,000 to 21 players thanks to a slush fund provided by boosters. It was also found that SMU had lied about when the payments had stopped.
Due to this SMU was banned from playing in the 1987 seasons, as well as home games in 1988. They were also banned from bowl games and nationally televised games. They were only allowed to have five assistant coaches instead of eight. Finally, they would lose 55 scholarships over four years and other recruiting restrictions.
So Is The Death Penalty Warranted?
So now we have all the background, is the death penalty on the table for Michigan? I would say it’s very unlikely they’re slapped with this harsh penalty. Although many would argue that what Michigan did is much worse than what SMU did. That is up for debate but the reputation surrounding the two is much different.
SMU was constantly getting in trouble with the NCAA. Starting in 1975 the Mustangs had been on probation five times, seven times in the total history of the program. This was more than any other program in the NCAA. Because of this SMU got a bad reputation. They were seen as a program that had gained success due to breaking the rules. The NCAA saw this scandal as a way to eliminate this black eye.
This is not the reputation that Michigan has. Sure Michigan isn’t perfect by any means. They have faced violations before this scandal, and they’ll likely get in trouble again. However, these violations aren’t seen as the reason they’re successful. This new sign-stealing scandal is a stain, but only on the 2023 season. It doesn’t affect the program as a whole. That’s why the punishment will be more on the people involved in the scandal and not kill the football program.
Thanks for reading! Credit for my feature image goes to Kirby Lee. You can find more college football content at Belly Up Sports and follow me on Twitter/X.
