The NCAA has opened an investigation into No. 2 Michigan over possible rule-breaking around in-person scouting of opponents



OSU did not look great against Wisc. They are not winning any playoff games. B1G will not chastize their golden ticket in Ann Arbor. I doubt anything will happen in time and Michigan will just get a slap on the wrist in the offseason and Harbaugh will b-line for the NFL. I hope nobody hires him. And Michigan is still very very good, National Championship good. I hate Harbaugh and cheating but I hate the SEC more.
 

  • Forfeit all games past 3 years & no games for next 10
  • Hold a draft amongst remaining Big Ten teams; Ohio State gets last pick in each round
  • Force all Michigan hockey commitments to have to attend Minnesota for 4 years; can't leave early for NHL
Looks fair to me! :cool:
 

I came up with the appropriate penalty.

Michigan has to get rid of those bleepin' helmets.

that was one of the biggest laughs I had from the movie "The Big Chill." if you don't remember, the movie was about a group of Michigan grads re-uniting for the funeral of a friend. during the weekend, they are watching a Michigan FB game on TV, and Jeff Goldblum's character says "Teach them the basics, Bo - ugliest helmets in the world!"
 


I came up with the appropriate penalty.

Michigan has to get rid of those bleepin' helmets.

that was one of the biggest laughs I had from the movie "The Big Chill." if you don't remember, the movie was about a group of Michigan grads re-uniting for the funeral of a friend. during the weekend, they are watching a Michigan FB game on TV, and Jeff Goldblum's character says "Teach them the basics, Bo - ugliest helmets in the world!"
I disagree. I actually like their helmets and uniforms.
 

Holy lord

Stalions, now 28, revealed that he was part of a small group of people—two of whom he said were at low-level positions on different college football coaching staffs—who were putting their heads together on a long-term plan to run the Michigan football program. Stalions claimed to have a Google document between 550 and 600 pages long that he managed daily, containing a blueprint for the Wolverines’ future. He referred the document as a movement more than a plan, dubbing it “the Michigan Manifesto.”
https://www.si.com/college/2023/10/25/michigan-connor-stalions-texts-stolen-signals
Michigan Manifesto? Sounds like New World Order, Ted Kazinski, luddites, and compounds in Idaho and Montana lol
 





Connor Stalions in one weird dude. I wouldn't be surprised if he's on the spectrum. He seems to have pulled this spying off without anyone else on the staff knowing. His mother is a big Michigan fan and seems to have indulged him since he was little and probably helped him finance the whole thing.

It's still not clear whether he violated actual rules or just the spirit of those rules.

It would be interesting to find out who financed the PI firm in this investigation. Most are pointing fingers at OSU backers.

Some of the false info coming out (like that Harbaugh contract extension was rescinded) seems like an orchestrated effort to smear Harbaugh and make recruiting difficult.

New NCAA rules hold the HC responsible even if he knew nothing about violations.

It's this last rule that makes me most nervous about the whole affair.
 



Connor Stalions in one weird dude. I wouldn't be surprised if he's on the spectrum. He seems to have pulled this spying off without anyone else on the staff knowing. His mother is a big Michigan fan and seems to have indulged him since he was little and probably helped him finance the whole thing.

It's still not clear whether he violated actual rules or just the spirit of those rules.

It would be interesting to find out who financed the PI firm in this investigation. Most are pointing fingers at OSU backers.

Some of the false info coming out (like that Harbaugh contract extension was rescinded) seems like an orchestrated effort to smear Harbaugh and make recruiting difficult.

New NCAA rules hold the HC responsible even if he knew nothing about violations.

It's this last rule that makes me most nervous about the whole affair.
So... he didn't scout opponents in person? He didn't pay others to scout opponents in person? And then he didn't use the recorded information that he got (or others paid by Michigan) to steal signals? Yeah, that's against the rules. That's even before we get to the "spirit of the rules" conversation. And I don't care who is behind the investigation. If this was the Gophers doing the same thing, I would be totally disgusted with our program. The level of Michigan arrogance is astounding. If you actually think that nobody else knew... wow. I hope they get slammed hard but am not holding my breath.
 
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Jim Harbaugh had his first media session in a week (Mich had a bye last week) and it did not go well.
Reporters were asking about the investigation, and Harbaugh said this:

I can talk about the football game this Saturday. I can talk about Purdue and the vibes and the preparation and where it stands today. It doesn’t seem like you’re interested in that. But that’s what I could talk about.

so a team spokesperson jumped in with this:

(Team spokesperson): Just so you guys know, there’s only certain things we can comment on. So we got to move forward or this is not going to be very long.

Harbaugh kept talking about a "one-track mind." Here's a gem:

Yeah. I just channel my inner William Wallace. And that’s the visual I think of, keep a one-track mind.

Here's another Harbaugh answer:

Yeah, I’m not gonna get into — I got a one-track mind. I’m not gonna be speculating, can let others speculate that on the various speculation that’s out there. It would be unfair to the team to not just be coaching the team.

the two phrases that were used the most were some variation on "speculation" and "one-track mind." transcripts are online if you want to read the whole thing.
 



If I were the Stalion kid, I would make sure not to loiter near the routes of any busses that are in transit.
 

Connor Stalions in one weird dude. I wouldn't be surprised if he's on the spectrum. He seems to have pulled this spying off without anyone else on the staff knowing. His mother is a big Michigan fan and seems to have indulged him since he was little and probably helped him finance the whole thing.

It's still not clear whether he violated actual rules or just the spirit of those rules.

It would be interesting to find out who financed the PI firm in this investigation. Most are pointing fingers at OSU backers.

Some of the false info coming out (like that Harbaugh contract extension was rescinded) seems like an orchestrated effort to smear Harbaugh and make recruiting difficult.

New NCAA rules hold the HC responsible even if he knew nothing about violations.

It's this last rule that makes me most nervous about the whole affair.
Is this a comedy bit? I honestly can't tell.
 

I’d love to see programs/schools held accountable for the actions of their employees, but it seems like the NCAA and conferences have shifted to blaming individual coaches and using show-clause penalties and calling it a day.

Could you imagine if it worked like that in industry? A company commits illegal acts and instead of holding the company accountable with real repercussions, we just fire a manager and call it good? Shit would be rampant. Even if you can just fire the CEO/head coach and end the consequences there, things would be out of control. Schools need to be incentivized to legitimately govern themselves and actually abide by the rules.
 

Jim Harbaugh had his first media session in a week (Mich had a bye last week) and it did not go well.
Reporters were asking about the investigation, and Harbaugh said this:

I can talk about the football game this Saturday. I can talk about Purdue and the vibes and the preparation and where it stands today. It doesn’t seem like you’re interested in that. But that’s what I could talk about.

so a team spokesperson jumped in with this:

(Team spokesperson): Just so you guys know, there’s only certain things we can comment on. So we got to move forward or this is not going to be very long.

Harbaugh kept talking about a "one-track mind." Here's a gem:

Yeah. I just channel my inner William Wallace. And that’s the visual I think of, keep a one-track mind.

Here's another Harbaugh answer:

Yeah, I’m not gonna get into — I got a one-track mind. I’m not gonna be speculating, can let others speculate that on the various speculation that’s out there. It would be unfair to the team to not just be coaching the team.

the two phrases that were used the most were some variation on "speculation" and "one-track mind." transcripts are online if you want to read the whole thing.

Talk about weirdos or high functioning …Jim has always been a little more than “off”. He can barely get through an interview under the best of circumstances.
 



Talk about weirdos or high functioning …Jim has always been a little more than “off”. He can barely get through an interview under the best of circumstances.
Maybe so, but I'll take a coach who gives weird answers in press conferences all day long who wins games at a high level.
 

Maybe so, but I'll take a coach who gives weird answers in press conferences all day long who wins games at a high level.

Those wins could be going bye bye. I’m not the only one that’s noticed Jim’s “eccentricities”.


 


The NCAA allows any school to pay any amount of money they want to, say, purchase the professional scouting services of MplsGopher Scouting Inc.

Mich, Ohio St, Penn St, etc. can all be my customers. I can go to their games, in-person, scout all I want, binoculars, video, whatever I want to do (that is allowed by the stadium for the public). Any number of weeks into the future schedule.

I can charge whatever I want to charge for those services, and those schools can choose to pay it or not. I can provide any number of laminated sheets that they want to pay for, summarizing my findings.

Yep. All good. Above board. In the clear.


But if they make me part of their staff, suddenly it step change switches over into a deadly sin.



Such a joke.
 


It just gets more comical. It's like when Bobby Valentine got kicked out of a game he was managing and came back to the dugout in a disguise. This will be a great 30 for 30 someday.
 




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