Before his team’s game against Michigan on Monday, he was provided information from other conference schools to steal signs and create a spreadsheet of play-calling signals that the Wolverines utilized the previous season.
He talked under anonymity with The Associated Press because he was worried about how the revelations would affect his coaching career.
The employee claimed that after his school played the Jim Harbaugh-led program in 2022, he shared the materials with Michigan, which featured the Wolverines’ signs and corresponding plays.
In addition, the individual sent the program screenshots of text messages between staff members from several Big Ten football teams and Michigan, providing evidence that the other league teams were working together to take signs from the Wolverines.
In an effort to support Harbaugh’s struggling program, he said he sent Michigan the extra information last week. He also expressed his belief that the head coach and his assistants are being unjustly held accountable for the misdeeds of a rogue employee.
The Big Ten’s sportsmanship guideline, which is the foundation of the conference’s argument against Michigan, may have been broken by the alleged acts of Michigan’s opponents. Michigan was notified by the conference of possible disciplinary action, as both the school and the Big Ten revealed on Monday.
An NCAA inquiry has already been launched into No. 2 Michigan (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) about an alleged ineligible in-person scouting and sign-stealing plan. Connor Stalions, a former low-level employee, is accused of sending individuals to watch opponents’ games and attending them himself in order to film footage that would be used to decipher their in-game signals.
As Harbaugh’s squad attempts to win the conference title for the third time in a row and the school’s first national championship since 1997, the scandal has cast a shadow over them. On Saturday, Michigan takes on No. 9 Penn State; if the team was sidetracked by the controversy surrounding the program, it was evident on the field on Saturday. Purdue lost to the Wolverines 41–13.
As the Wolverines resumed their regular operations on Monday, guard Zac Zinter told reporters, “I’m good with being the villain if that’s how the media and everyone else perceives it outside the building.” However, there was one noteworthy guest at Schembechler Hall.
Pro wrestler Ric Flair visited Harbaugh. Flair shared a photo of himself and Harbaugh in the coach’s office on X along with the caption, “Just Spent The Morning With My Close Friend.”
While in-person scouting and utilizing technological equipment to steal signs are not prohibited by NCAA regulations, some of the accusations against Michigan point to a systematic and well-funded strategy. While the university claims to be working with the NCAA, Harbaugh has denied knowing anything about the plot.
Two weeks after Michigan suspended him, Stalions announced his resignation last Monday. According to the lawyer for the Stalions, his client did not want to cause the team any problems.
The former Big Ten program staffer informed AP that he was unaware of any material that had been obtained against the regulations. Speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal the facts, a person familiar with the case said that the documents he sent to Michigan were shared with the Big Ten on Friday along with additional materials.
