sign stealing

Big Ten Schools Call For Action On Michigan Sign-Stealing

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Representatives from 13 of the schools in college athletics’ Big Ten Conference have urged the conference commissioner to take action against the 14th school, Michigan. This comes after a wide-ranging and elaborate sign-stealing operation was exposed and is now being investigated by the NCAA. Five sources familiar with the call told ESPN that the coaches demanded immediate action against Michigan. “Collectively, the coaches want the Big Ten to act — right now. What are we waiting on? We know what happened,” one source summarized. As a result, the Conference scheduled a call between the commissioner and school athletic directors for later in the week.

Coaches reportedly used “tainted”, “fraudulent”, and “unprecedented” to describe Michigan’s actions. Furthermore, coaches pointed to Michigan’s 22-1 conference record over the last three years, the period of time that the sign-stealing operation has reportedly been in place, as proof of its effect on the conference. “People don’t understand the seriousness of it. How it truly impacted the game plan. To truly know if it’s a run or a pass, people don’t understand how much of an advantage that was for Michigan,” another source said.

Read More: TCU Used “Dummy Signals” To Thwart Michigan Sign-Stealing During CFP

Michigan Sign-Stealing Operation Explained

The Michigan sign-stealing operation was first reported two weeks ago by Yahoo! and has steadily grown in scope. The investigation has centered on Connor Stalions, a long-time staffer within the football program. Stalions is found to have bought tickets to 35 games at 17 venues over the last three years. This includes 12 Big 10 schools. While in attendance, Stalions is believed to have recorded the sidelines in order to capture footage of a team’s play-calling signs. While sign-stealing is not prohibited, in-person scouting of future opponents and sign-stealing via electronic means is banned under NCAA rules. Stalions is currently on paid suspension from his position.

Furthermore, a former Division III coach has claimed that Stalions paid him to record footage at least one game involving a future Michigan opponent. While most of Michigan’s coaching staff has denied knowledge of the sign-stealing operation, the school said that it is cooperating with the Big Ten and NCAA in their investigations. Michigan are currently 8-0 and lead the Big Ten East. Their season will likely be decided with a matchup against Ohio State in the regular season finale.

Read More: Deion Sanders Demands NCAA Compensate Colorado Players For UCLA Robbery

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TCU Used “Dummy Signals” To Thwart Michigan Sign-Stealing During CFP

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TCU reportedly used “dummy signals” to counter sign-stealing by Michigan during their College Football Playoff matchup earlier this year. According to sources who spoke with Yahoo!, TCU received calls in the run-up to their Fiesta Bowl game against Michigan, informing them that Michigan had likely stolen their play-calling signs. “Sometimes we froze a play before the snap. We’d call a play and then we’d signal in another play with an old signal but we told players to run the original play,” one TCU coach told the outlet about how they countered the potential leak.

The news came out amid the unfolding situation at Michigan. The university suspended eight-year employee Connor Stalions due to an NCAA investigation into sign-stealing. Stalions had reportedly bought tickets to over 40 NCAA games over the last three years and attended the games to illegally record the play-calling signs of upcoming and potential Michigan opponents. While the NCAA does not specifically prohibit sign-stealing, both in-person scouting of future opponents and the electronic recording of play-calling signs are both banned.

Read More: Michigan State Apologizes For Running Hitler Trivia On Jumbotron During Football Game

More Trouble For Michigan

The sign-stealing scandal is just one of three investigations currently occurring at Michigan. Coach Jim Harbaugh is still under investigation for recruiting violations that occurred during the COVID-19 dead period in 2020. Harbaugh served a three-game suspension to begin the season and rulings on further infractions are expected next year. However, it remains to be seen just how extensive knowledge of the sign-stealing scheme was.

Meanwhile, the FBI was reportedly at the school’s Ann Arbor campus earlier this week as part of a third investigation. Very little information into the firing of assistant coach Matt Weiss has been released since it happened earlier this year. However, Weiss was fired over “unauthorized computer access crimes” that occurred at Michigan’s athletics facilities. However, UoM Deputy Police Chief Melissa Overton told ESPN the investigation, which now involves the FBI, is “extensive, ongoing and is of the utmost priority. Furthermore, Overton noted that it covered multiple states.

Read More: Deion Sanders Isn’t Leaving Colorado Anytime Soon, Manager Claims

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