The NCAA has opened an investigation into No. 2 Michigan over possible rule-breaking around in-person scouting of opponents

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Parity is bad enough...for this to be going on....seriously deflating for a fan of a program just TRYING to get out of third tier. We have enough stacked against us only for the top program in the conference to be cheating this blatantly.

There's much more serious problems in the world - but, this really pisses me off.
 

The prez sez said:
My starting point on Michigan penaLties: Forfeiture of All games this year and last year where it is documented that spying occurred, and, fines, loss of scholarships to football program, and dismissal of entire coaching staff at Michigan.
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More likely the Portland State badminton team will get probation over this.
 

"It's hard to beat the cheaters in the SEC." - Jim Harbaugh, 2019.

It was a quote about recruiting, but I think it is insightful.

Real quote. Google it. It’s worth a google.
 


Mandel talked about yesterday & his thoughts were the NCAA is pretty much powerless because it takes them years, & the CFP won't touch it because that's not their job, but if there is hard credible evidence, the Big Ten could step in & declare them ineligible for the Big Ten championship game.

I doubt anything will come of it, at least this year. This is the same conference that changed the Big Ten title game rule for Ohio State a week or so before the game in 2020. They aren't going to do anything to tarnish a possible national title team.
 


What Mandel wrote on Wednesday:

There are three parties — the NCAA, the Big Ten and the CFP — that could theoretically take action against the Wolverines, but really, there’s only one that could realistically do it. The NCAA has a standard enforcement process that takes months, if not years, to complete. And it’s not the CFP’s role to levy punishments. The committee has the leeway to dock Michigan in its rankings, but I don’t think they’d want to set that precedent.

It’s really up to Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, who has blanket authorization to “take disciplinary action” if he determines someone has violated the league’s sportsmanship policy. That policy states right off the top: “The Big Ten Conference expects all contests involving a member institution to be conducted without compromise to any fundamental element of sportsmanship.” What Stalions allegedly did on Michigan’s behalf seems just a little bit compromised and unsportsmanlike.

Of course, Pettiti would need his hands on the same video/paper trail reportedly sent to the NCAA. He would need to feel comfortable taking action before the completion of the NCAA’s investigation. And then there’s the billion-dollar elephant in the room: He’d risk alienating Fox, the Big Ten’s primary TV partner, by staging a conference championship game without the best team in the conference.

But he’s also tasked with protecting the interests of all 14 members of his league, and, based on ESPN’s report, at least 11 were directly impacted by Michigan’s alleged scheme. They have a basic expectation of fairness in conference-sponsored competitions. And they are no doubt furious at what’s allegedly transpired, so much so that a school or schools felt compelled to turn Michigan in.

If the evidence supports it, I don’t think a school that blatantly violated the league’s sportsmanship policy should be allowed to compete for its championship. Note that would not preclude the Wolverines from playing in a bowl game, and the CFP could still rank them in the top four, allowing them to still contend for the national championship. But the more we learn about the allegations, the more I believe this is primarily a Big Ten-centric issue.
 

What's the best way to contact the Big Ten about this? Fans across all B1G message boards should band around this effort.
 





For sure, Michigan is the only team in the country to even be able to dream up such a scheme! The gall!!! No other teams in the country (SEC) … no other teams in the Big Ten would/have ever dare(d)!!!!!! For sure

Yes indeed, the Big Ten must take immediate action to prohibit its top, prized programs Michigan (*cough*and Ohio State and Penn State and …*cough*) from the lucrative conf championship games and the CFP!!


That’s what the SEC would do, right???



:sneaky: GTFO


The day an elite program is punished by the NCAA for a …. [checks notes] cost cutting measure …. is the day the conf leaves the NCAA.
 





that gets us back to the same question - what is an appropriate punishment?

I see people giving the "don't penalize the players" theory.

so - if you focus on the coaches - what do you do? Fines? Suspensions? and should the suspensions be this season or next season?

we saw Harbaugh sit out 3 games this season and what did that accomplish?

personally, I would hit Michigan in the pocket book. make them forfeit some or all of their share of conference revenue. Take - let's say - $25-million away from Michigan and split it up among the other teams in the conference. If you wanted a bigger penalty, I would be fine with $30 or $40-millon.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
that gets us back to the same question - what is an appropriate punishment?

I see people giving the "don't penalize the players" theory.

so - if you focus on the coaches - what do you do? Fines? Suspensions? and should the suspensions be this season or next season?

we saw Harbaugh sit out 3 games this season and what did that accomplish?

personally, I would hit Michigan in the pocket book. make them forfeit some or all of their share of conference revenue. Take - let's say - $25-million away from Michigan and split it up among the other teams in the conference. If you wanted a bigger penalty, I would be fine with $30 or $40-millon.
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No post season for 5 years.

Coaches out for the same 5 years.

All players get a free transfer.

Fuck the whole "don't hurt the players", cheating benefited them and they hurt every opposing team's players by cheating .... but suddenly it’s about the players?
 
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MplsGopher said:
For sure, Michigan is the only team in the country to even be able to dream up such a scheme! The gall!!! No other teams in the country (SEC) … no other teams in the Big Ten would/have ever dare(d)!!!!!! For sure

Yes indeed, the Big Ten must take immediate action to prohibit its top, prized programs Michigan (*cough*and Ohio State and Penn State and …*cough*) from the lucrative conf championship games and the CFP!!


That’s what the SEC would do, right???



:sneaky: GTFO


The day an elite program is punished by the NCAA for a …. [checks notes] cost cutting measure …. is the day the conf leaves the NCAA.
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This is such a wild take.

Michigan shouldn't get punished for breaking the rules because other teams probably do it on some level and don't get caught?

If someone is caught cheating on an exam, should they not get punished because other students are probably cheating too? Oh, what about someone who gets pulled over for a DUI? Should they not get punished because there are other drivers out there driving drunk too?

Be real.
 

You compared a jaywalking level breaking of the rules in college football to cheating on a test and DUI, but I’m the one that needs to be real?

Wow.


My take has this slant/angle to it: this kind of “cheating” is child’s play for the SEC, and their conf commissioner would never in a million years bar their top teams from the conf champ game or CFP, as Mandel suggests the Big Ten commish should do to Michigan.

Once again: GTFO.


If the NCAA wants to come down from on high over this, then that’s what it is. That’s ostensibly why they exist.

The conf commissioner ain’t gonna do s__t, nor should he.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
that gets us back to the same question - what is an appropriate punishment?
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  • Forfeit all games past 3 years & no games for next 10
  • Hold a draft amongst remaining Big Ten teams; Ohio State gets last pick in each round
  • Force all Michigan hockey commitments to have to attend Minnesota for 4 years; can't leave early for NHL
 

The more I read about this, the more upset I get. This really is BS. Every team Michigan has played the past 3 years has been at a disadvantage, and every team they play the rest of this year has likely had their signals stolen and now needs to spend valuable meeting and practice time implementing brand new systems. It's garbage.

I was also thinking today how slowly Michigan has started in many games this year. Down 7 for most of the first half to Indiana. Up 14-6 against Bowling Green at half. Up 14-7 against Rutgers at half and Schiano outright says on a TV interview that Michigan has their signals. Takes times to identify the people on the sidelines who are actually "hot" or responsible for the calls. Could take multiple drives on both sides, but once you have that (and figure out whether it's rotating on each drive), you're golden and foot goes on throttle.
 


^^ don’t be sheep.

Some of the proposed penalties and folks talking about how “upset” they are … are just not real, not genuine.

This is a made up “scandal” in order to drive clicks and get people talking.
 



MplsGopher said:
^^ don’t be sheep.

Some of the proposed penalties and folks talking about how “upset” they are … are just not real, not genuine.

This is a made up “scandal” in order to drive clicks and get people talking.
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You wouldn't happen to be Billy Mitchell would you?
 

on the punishment angle - turns out the B1G has rules governing that. From an article by Randy Johnson in the Strib:

Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti, according to an ESPN report, has authority under the conference's sportsmanship policy to impose discipline if he determines offensive actions have happened. The Big Ten has two disciplinary categories: fines of up to $10,000 and a suspension of two games, or an enhanced punishment that requires approval from an executive committee.

so either a financial slap on the wrist, or they have to go to the 'executive committee' for an "enhanced punishment."

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meanwhile, a different former Michigan coach is under investigation by the FBI:
from Yahoo Sports:

The University of Michigan police department confirmed Thursday that it has partnered with the FBI in the investigation involving Matt Weiss, the former Wolverines co-offensive coordinator who was fired in January for alleged computer access crimes.

a University of Michigan police department statement reads “Currently, the investigation is extensive, ongoing and is of the utmost priority. Additional information will be provided when available.”

Weiss was first placed on leave and later fired following an allegation of computer-access crimes at the Schembechler Hall football facility from Dec. 21-23, 2022. He has not been charged with a crime, nor has he been arrested.

University of Michigan police department deputy chief Melissa Overton told Sports Illustrated that the Weiss case is “not at all associated” with the sign-stealing saga involving suspended analyst Connor Stalions.

Very few details surrounding Weiss’ case have emerged. According to multiple outlets, the school wrote in a letter to Weiss that he had “inappropriately accessed the computer accounts of other individuals.” Michigan then fired him after he did not attend a meeting with school officials to discuss the matter.
 

Don’t hold your breath. Nothing, I repeat nothing will happen. Remember it’s Michigan, not Indiana or Rutgers but Michigan.. With the present(and past) leadership in the B1G office, nothing will happen, guaranteed.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
on the punishment angle - turns out the B1G has rules governing that. From an article by Randy Johnson in the Strib:

Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti, according to an ESPN report, has authority under the conference's sportsmanship policy to impose discipline if he determines offensive actions have happened. The Big Ten has two disciplinary categories: fines of up to $10,000 and a suspension of two games, or an enhanced punishment that requires approval from an executive committee.

so either a financial slap on the wrist, or they have to go to the 'executive committee' for an "enhanced punishment."

---------------------- --------------------------------
meanwhile, a different former Michigan coach is under investigation by the FBI:
from Yahoo Sports:

The University of Michigan police department confirmed Thursday that it has partnered with the FBI in the investigation involving Matt Weiss, the former Wolverines co-offensive coordinator who was fired in January for alleged computer access crimes.

a University of Michigan police department statement reads “Currently, the investigation is extensive, ongoing and is of the utmost priority. Additional information will be provided when available.”

Weiss was first placed on leave and later fired following an allegation of computer-access crimes at the Schembechler Hall football facility from Dec. 21-23, 2022. He has not been charged with a crime, nor has he been arrested.

University of Michigan police department deputy chief Melissa Overton told Sports Illustrated that the Weiss case is “not at all associated” with the sign-stealing saga involving suspended analyst Connor Stalions.

Very few details surrounding Weiss’ case have emerged. According to multiple outlets, the school wrote in a letter to Weiss that he had “inappropriately accessed the computer accounts of other individuals.” Michigan then fired him after he did not attend a meeting with school officials to discuss the matter.
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I will fine you…one million dollars! (little finger to mouth)
 

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