Central Michigan Gets Notice of Allegations in Stalions, Michigan Sign-Stealing Case

The NCAA issued Central Michigan a Notice of Allegations regarding its potential role in the sign stealing scandal involving former Michigan defensive analyst Connor Stalions during the 2023 season, per Paul Myerberg of USA Today.

Stalions, purportedly in disguise, was allegedly on Central Michigan's sidelines during the team's season-opening matchup against Michigan State in an effort to steal signs from the Spartans. He has denied those particular accusations.

As Myerberg noted, "Multiple reports have linked Stalions to the purchase of tickets to games involving Michigan opponents, which he allegedly sent to collaborators who would record videos of the teams' signals. Stalions would then decode the signals by matching them to offensive and defensive plays, theoretically providing the Wolverines with an unbalanced advantage."

One interesting wrinkle to entire situation is that former Michigan offensive coordinator Jim McElwain was the head coach at Central Michigan at the time of Stalions' alleged appearance on the sidelines. Meanwhile, then-Chippewas quarterbacks coach, Jake Kostner, was a student assistant with the Wolverines between 2015-18, overlapping with Stalions.

Central Michigan was reportedly informed of the Notice of Allegations on June 27 and will have a 90-day window to respond. In November, the school said in a statement that it was "aware of inferences made in the new Netflix documentary regarding former University of Michigan football staff member Connor Stalions accessing the CMU sidelines during our opening game last September," and that it has "fully cooperated with the NCAA's ongoing investigation, and we will continue to cooperate with the NCAA as it works to complete its investigation."

Michigan already suspended head coach Sherrone Moore for two games this upcoming season as a preemptive measure ahead of the NCAA announcing any punishments. Moore served as an assistant under former head coach Jim Harbaugh, who has since departed for the NFL.