BOMBSHELL: Michigan Staffer Allegedly Paid Former College Coach To Help Cheat
A former DIII college coach claims he was paid as part of a scheme to help Michigan violate NCAA rules and steal signs.
The Wolverines and Jim Harbaugh are under intense scrutiny amid allegations the team had an incredibly complex system to scout teams all over the country and film their sidelines to steal signs. Filming sidelines as part of advanced scouting is a major NCAA violation, and the weight of the world is now coming down on Michigan as the investigation focuses on alleged pointman Connor Stalions.
Stalions is accused of having been the man behind the scheme and allegedly purchased dozens of tickets for people to film sidelines to help Michigan.
Now, a coach has come forward and claims he was paid as part of the scheme to help Michigan cheat.
Michigan is currently engulfed by a massive sign stealing scandal. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
Coach claims he was part of Michigan's sign stealing scandal.
The unnamed former DIII coach spoke with ESPN about the scheme, and told the outlet he was paid around $1,000 to cover expenses and his for helping Michigan steal signs ahead of games.
The unnamed coach says Stalions paid him directly from a personal Venmo account. If that's true, then there's an electronic paper trail that will be very hard to dispute.
He attended three B1G games during the past two years to record the sidelines of upcoming Michigan opponents, according to ESPN. He would then upload the videos to a shared iPhone album Stalions allegedly had access to. The unnamed coach doesn't know if anyone other than Stalions also had access to the folder.
ESPN reported Stalions didn't respond to multiple attempts to get comment.
The Wolverines and Jim Harbaugh face serious allegations of stealing signs. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
The Wolverines are consumed by chaos.
The situation in Ann Arbor is quickly turning into one of the biggest college football scandals in recent memory. Whether or not you like the rules about filming sidelines to steal signals and advanced scouting, the rules are what the rules are.
If Michigan is guilty of running an incredibly complex and well-funded sign stealing operation, then the program violated NCAA rules and cheated.
How the NCAA and Big Ten choose to respond is a different discussion, but right now, it certainly feels like the walls are closing in. Stalions allegedly bought dozens of tickets to scout upcoming opponents, and one shocking report claims Michigan even gave stolen signs to other teams to help beat potential CFP opponents. Michigan declined to comment on the allegation when I reached out.
Did the Michigan Wolverines run a complex operation to steal signs? (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Stalions is currently suspended and the NCAA is bringing what little power it has left against the Wolverines. Make sure to keep checking back to OutKick for the latest updates as we have them, and give me your thoughts on Michigan at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.