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The Michigan football team is currently 7-0 and ranked #2 in the country, but the Wolverines are now under investigation by the NCAA, according to a report from Ross Dellenger. Head coach Jim Harbaugh already had to miss the first three games of the Michigan season because of a self-imposed suspension regarding different NCAA violations. That situation has not been resolved yet, either.
From the Big Ten:
Late Wednesday afternoon, the Big Ten Conference and University of Michigan were notified by the NCAA that the NCAA was investigating allegations of sign stealing by the University of Michigan football program.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) October 19, 2023
This new investigation is regarding illegal in-person scouting by the Wolverines. The investigation is aimed at discovering whether or not Michigan sent scouts to gather information on the offensive and defensive signs of future opponents. Two teams that Michigan football has played this season told Yahoo! Sports that they became aware of the fact that the Wolverines knew their signs, and the question is now whether or not the signs were discovered during the game, or if a scout was sent to figure them out beforehand.
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Sign stealing isn't technically illegal if it done in a certain way. In-person scouting of future opponents is illegal, but a team figuring out another team's signs during a game happens somewhat often. The signs are there for everyone to see, and if they aren't good enough signs, the other team is going to pick up on that. That could very likely be what happened with Michigan.
At this point, there doesn't seem to be any proof suggesting that Michigan sent scouts to opponent's games. The investigation is stemming from the fact that the Wolverines did figure out some signs from other teams. It could be something serious, but it could be nothing, as sign-stealing happens very frequently during college football games.
The announcement of this investigation occurred right before Michigan takes on rival Michigan State football. We'll see if it distracts the team in any way before the big rivalry matchup this weekend.
