A while back, I wrote, in the context of the Connor Stalions “sign stealing” scandal:
Realistically, if this is substantiated, I suspect major loss of scholarships, a ban on post-season play, and possibly for Harbaugh to get a “show-cause penalty“.
The NCAA has handed down their penalty. No post-season ban, and no wins erased, but Michigan is getting hit with fines “that could eclipse $30 million”.
The NCAA also imposed an additional game suspension for coach Sherrone Moore, which will be served for the first game of the 2026 season. Moore is expected to serve a two-game suspension in the upcoming season, which ESPN reported in May that the university proposed to self-impose. He also received a two-year show-cause penalty.
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The NCAA committee also levied an eight-year show-cause penalty for former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions and a 10-year show-cause for ex-coach Jim Harbaugh, who is now in the NFL. Those essentially act as barriers to schools hiring them in the future. Harbaugh’s new 10-year show-cause penalty will not begin until after he serves a current four-year show-cause from a previous NCAA case.
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The size of the fine is expected to be considerable, although a finite amount will not be immediately available. It includes a $50,000 initial levy, 10% of the football budget, 10% of the cost of football scholarships for the 2025 season, and the loss of all postseason competition revenue sharing for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. That sum could easily eclipse $30 million.
Though there are variables on how much teams get from football postseason revenue, sources expect that number alone based on past Big Ten income and projections to be more than $20 million. Some of that will depend on the performance of both Michigan and the Big Ten. The football budget in 2024 was more than $70 million, which means the amount is likely to be at least $7 million for that part of the fine, depending on updated budgets.
Also, Denard Robinson, who is a former assistant coach, got a three year “show cause” for what are apparently unrelated recruiting violations.
Michigan and its coaches and staffers were charged with six Level 1 violations in the sign-stealing case, which are the most serious. The decision to fine the school heavily but not issue a penalty such as a postseason ban indicates a shift in NCAA enforcement rulings away from postseason prohibitions.
This entry was posted on Friday, August 15th, 2025 at 12:18 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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