Michigan Recruiting in Danger After NCAA Announces Ongoing Investigation

Rich Rodriguez finds himself back on the hot-seat this week, and unfortunately it's not because of matters concerning the results of a game.

The NCAA announced this morning that they have found just cause to press ahead with their investigation of the Michigan football program.

NCAA Bylaw 32.5 states: “If the enforcement staff has developed reasonably reliable information indicating that an institution has been in violation of NCAA legislation that requires further investigation, the enforcement staff shall provide a notice of inquiry in writing to the chancellor or president.”

So what does that mean?

It means that the NCAA infractions committee believes that major violations may have occurred.

This doesn't mean heads are about to roll. It doesn't mean sanctions are forthcoming. It just means that Michigan is one step closer to sanctions.

That doesn't bode well for this program.

Rich Rodriguez has obviously taken the steps to improve this football team greatly from his first year to his second year. On the field, it would be hard to argue the fact that he is doing a solid job transforming this program.

However, if the NCAA does in fact find that major violations did occur, Rodriguez's success in games will no longer matter. His job should remain contingent on the results of this investigation.

Athletic Director Bill Martin's fate would also have been tied to Rodriguez and the results of the investigation, but he announced his retirement last week. As of now, there is no reason to believe that his timing was related to the news this morning.

What is the impact of this news?

The most obvious impact will come from recruiting. Recruits who were on the fence may have just made up their minds. If they were looking at Michigan and Ohio State, they might see smoke billowing up from Ann Arbor and find it hard to breathe there.

News like this is never welcome at any major program, and for it to come in the middle of the season is just lousy timing because it puts the focus on the NCAA investigation rather than the progress of the football team.

Nonetheless, Michigan must continue to tread carefully this year and keep their fingers crossed. Major violations would be the death knell of this proud program. It would mire Michigan in a haze of mediocrity for the next decade, if the basketball team of the '90s is any indication. 

Obviously we will hope those words are never uttered by the NCAA. We will hope Rodriguez is around to turn this program into champions. We will hope Michigan remains Michigan.