For nearly two years, the Connor Stalions saga has hovered over Michigan football. What started as a random sideline photo in September 2023 slowly turned into one of the strangest scandals the sport has seen. John Harbaugh’s assistant was penalized, and Stalions appealed the NCAA’s decision. Now, the governing body of college athletics has ruled on the appeal.

The NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee has denied Connor Stalions’ appeal and “affirmed” the findings of violations and the application of aggravating factors tied to his case. The ruling locks in his eight-year show-cause penalty, officially classifying the matter as a “Level I-Aggravated case.”

The Committee on Infractions previously said that Stalions engaged in “impermissible scouting activities by directing and arranging for individuals to attend the games and film the signal callers of future University of Michigan football opponents” and that he “failed to cooperate in the investigation.” Stalions argued on appeal that the findings were from “procedural errors” and that the committee “misapplied the scouting bylaw.” He also marked six aggravating factors for review, but the committee wasn’t really buying it.

To understand how he got here, we need to look back at September 2023, when Stalions was spotted on Central Michigan’s sideline during a game against Michigan State, wearing CMU-issued coaching gear and holding a bench pass. At the time, it barely got noticed. Later, the NCAA report states that Stalions “personally engaged in in-person scouting” and attended the game “in part to decipher Michigan State’s signals.”

By October, the NCAA told the Big Ten it had “highly credible evidence of a wide-ranging, multi-year, in-person off-campus scouting scheme.” The then-Michigan head coach, John Harbaugh, denied any knowledge of the illegal sign stealing. But Stalions was suspended.

The Big Ten declared the “existence of the impermissible scheme is proven.” Michigan still went 15–0 and won a national championship. Harbaugh left for the NFL. Sherrone Moore served a part of his suspension. And now, the NCAA is affirming Stalions’ eight-year show-cause.

The NCAA handed out a lengthy list of punishments and fines following its investigation into the sign-stealing scandal. Michigan was hit with a $50,000 fine, plus 10% of its football program budget, a two-year show-cause order and a one-game suspension for Moore in the 2026 season, and of course, Stalions received his eight-year show-cause order. The NCAA also gave Harbaugh a 10-year show-cause.

Since leaving Michigan, Stalions has been coaching in high school. He served as the acting head coach at Detroit Mumford High School in September 2024 and was “around” the Belleville High School program a couple of months which later produced Michigan freshman QB Bryce Underwood.

The eight-year show-cause order means that any college football program wanting to hire Stalions must get NCAA approval and demonstrate why he should be employable, and he would be barred from all athletically related activities for his first season with that school. Between 2021 and 2023, Stalions allegedly arranged illegal scouting of at least 13 Michigan future opponents on 58 occasions. His resignation in October 2023 came amid the initial reports.

Central Michigan also got drawn into the story. Reports said a member of CMU’s staff “initiated contact with Stalions,” and former CMU head coach Jim McElwain was likely aware and approved the arrangement to secure Stalions a sideline credential.

McElwain said, “We … were totally unaware of it. I certainly don’t condone it in any way, shape, or form, and I do know that his name was on none of the [sideline] passes that were let out.”

Later, Stalions himself admitted to the NCAA that he was on the CMU sideline. While Michigan faces fines, scholarship reductions, recruiting limitations, and probation, Stalions’ ability to work in college remains restricted through August 2033.

Michigan withdrew appeal after challenging NCAA penalties

Michigan faces around $30 million in fines from the NCAA, but the team won’t be barred from bowl games.

“The true scope and scale of the [sign-stealing] scheme, including the competitive advantage it afforded, will never be fully known due to individuals’ intentional destruction and withholding of materials and information,” said Norman Bay, the chief hearing officer for the NCAA committee. He added, “You don’t put together a network of individuals called the ‘KGB’ that records what they call ‘dirty film’ where the cost of doing this is in the tens of thousands of dollars over three seasons unless you intend to gain a substantial competitive advantage.”

For Michigan, that meant financial punishment instead of the kind of blanket postseason restrictions that have ended seasons for other programs.

The coaches were not spared from penalties either. The NCAA report detailed 56 instances of off-campus, in-person scouting directed by Stalions, using a network of staff and interns to film opponents’ signal calls. “Stalions directed and arranged for individuals to conduct off-campus, in-person scouting of Michigan’s future regular-season opponents… Using the footage they collected — which Stalions referred to as ‘dirty film’ — Stalions then deciphered opponents’ signals,” the committee wrote.

The whole thing has been messy and expensive for Michigan. The university initially vowed to fight the sanctions, arguing the NCAA “made fundamental errors in interpreting bylaws” and reached conclusions “directly contrary to the evidence.” But within two months, they dropped their appeal,giving the prolonged impact on student-athletes as a reason to move on.

AD Warde Manuel had promised support for the coach and team as they prepare for the coming season. Even as the Wolverines prepare to hit the field again, the scandal still lingers.