Report: Ohio State's Ryan Day Not Linked to Michigan Sign-Stealing Probe by NCAA

In a blow to message-board fodder in some corners of college football fandom, there is reportedly no evidence that Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and his family were involved in the ongoing investigation into Michigan's sign-stealing scandal.

According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, the NCAA told the Big Ten on Monday that it did not find any evidence that Day or members of his family were behind the ongoing investigation.

"Over the weekend, one particular story gained attention in a viral nature," Dellenger explained. "The story targeted Day and his family members for their involvement in the NCAA's investigation. Day and family members have received threats as a result of the story."

While the Michigan situation figures to last into the offseason given the often slow pace of NCAA investigations, there could be a ruling and potential punishment from the Big Ten this week.

Earlier Monday, Dellenger and Dan Wetzel reported the NCAA provided the Big Ten with some of its findings, including the lack of a smoking gun to tie Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh to the in-person scouting and the recording of opponents' sidelines.

For now, the only thing that has happened is the resignation of low-level staffer Connor Stalions. Harbaugh has denied any knowledge of the sign-stealing scheme, although there have been plenty of pictures and videos of Stalions standing near and interacting with the head coach and coordinators on both sides of the ball as opponents signaled in their plays during games.

Dellenger reported Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti met with Michigan officials Friday and received pushback when he suggested a multi-game suspension for Harbaugh.

What's more, the school is apparently preparing to take legal action if there is a suspension for the head coach, adding another layer to the situation Petitti is attempting to navigate. The legal action could delay any punishments or suspensions long enough for the undefeated Wolverines, who are No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings, to pursue a national championship this season.

That Michigan has successfully turned around the program amid this scandal after struggling to live up to its own elevated standards at the start of Harbaugh's tenure surely doesn't sit well with other coaches.

ESPN's Pete Thamel previously reported a "vast majority" of the Big Ten's coaches pressured Petitti to punish the Michigan program during a video call.

"People don't understand the seriousness of it," one source told Thamel. "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."

Then there was the survey of head coaches, coordinators, assistants, analysts and staffers from teams in all 10 FBS conferences that Bruce Feldman and Max Olson of The Athletic conducted.

It found that 94 percent of the respondents believe the Wolverines should be punished, 70 percent think Harbaugh was aware of the sign-stealing scheme to a degree and 74 percent think the scandal helped contribute to Michigan's turnaround the past three years.

If nothing else, there will be quite the backdrop for the annual rivalry game between Michigan and Ohio State to end the regular season. Both teams are undefeated and could be playing for a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game and CFP, but one storyline that won't be a part of it is the suggestion that Day was behind the investigation into the Wolverines.

Not after the NCAA confirmed that was not the case on Monday.