The No. 2 team in college football, the Michigan Wolverines, are officially under investigation by the NCAA after allegations of sign stealing have come to light.
Breaking: The NCAA is investigating the Michigan Wolverines' football program amid allegations of sign stealing, the Big Ten Conference said Thursday.
More: https://t.co/ntunUdKmbN pic.twitter.com/Ojt5NSQY7V
— ESPN (@espn) October 19, 2023
"The university is fully cooperating with the Big Ten and NCAA," a university statement read. "... At the University of Michigan, we are committed to the highest ethical and integrity standards for all members of our community."
On Wednesday, the NCAA notified the Big Ten and Michigan, and they also notified future Michigan opponents.
"The Big Ten Conference considers the integrity of competition to be of utmost importance and will continue to monitor the investigation," it said in a statement.
Right now, there aren't any rules against sign stealing. However, there are rules against in-person advance scouting of other teams.
Per Yahoo Sports, Michigan allegedly had personnel attending games of other opponents to gather intel on the signs they used during offense and defense.
"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," the Big Ten said in a statement on Thursday. "The Big Ten Conference has notified Michigan State University and future opponents. The Big Ten Conference considers the integrity of competition to be of utmost importance and will continue to monitor the investigation. The Conference will have no further comment at this time."
Under NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1, "Off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited." This would be the bylaw Michigan would've broken if this is found to be true.
On top of the NCAA informing the team, conference, and future opponents, the U.S. Integrity, a firm in Vegas that monitors betting markets, also sent out their own alert.
Amid these allegations, former NFL players J.J. Watt and Robert Griffin III took to Instagram comments to voice their support for the team.
Former NFL great J.J. Watt & Former Heisman Winner RG3 defend Michigan in their latest allegation for sign-stealing pic.twitter.com/Zz2ZIuREkK
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) October 19, 2023
The school has already dealt with a three-game self-imposed ban of head coach Jim Harbaugh. That ban came from allegations of recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period and being uncooperative with the NCAA.
The Wolverines are 7-0 and will take on Michigan State on the road in Week 8 at 7:30 pm ET.
