ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The NCAA fined Michigan tens of millions of dollars Friday and suspended coach Sherrone Moore for a third game as punishment for a sprawling sign-stealing scandal that has loomed over college football’s winningest program for nearly two years, including its national championship season in 2023.
The NCAA said it had “overwhelming” and concerning evidence of a cover-up by Wolverines staff and noted there were “sufficient grounds for a multiyear postseason ban” against a program now considered a repeat violator. But the governing body stopped short of program-crippling punishments, saying a two-year postseason ban “would unfairly penalize student-athletes for the actions of coaches and staff” who are no longer there.
“The panel concluded that an elaborate, impermissible scouting scheme was embedded in the Michigan football program over the course of three football seasons, 2021, 2022 and 2023, and this occurred under former head coach Jim Harbaugh’s oversight,” said Norman Bay, chief hearing officer for the Division I Committee on Infractions. “What makes this case even more serious, in addition to the clear intent to impermissibly gain a substantial competitive advantage, is the elaborate effort to obstruct the investigation.”
Moore, who is facing a school-imposed two-game suspension this season, will also sit out the first game of the 2026-27 season for a total of three games. Moore received a two-year show-cause order, but will be allowed to fulfill coaching commitments under the NCAA order.
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