Michigan has received a formal notice of allegations from the NCAA in connection with the Connor Stalions impermissible scouting investigation, team spokesman Dave Ablauf confirmed Sunday.
The NCAA also confirmed it sent the notice of allegations to Michigan and said in a statement it will not comment on the specifics included “to protect the integrity of the infractions process as the case progresses forward.”
Michigan did not offer further comment on the contents of the NOA, but a source briefed on the investigation said the formal allegations are largely unchanged from the draft notice Michigan received earlier this month. Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh faces a Level I charge, the most severe in the NCAA’s penalty structure, and current Michigan coach Sherrone Moore faces a Level II charge for allegedly deleting text messages with Stalions. Michigan also faces a Level I charge as an institution.
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Michigan has 90 days to respond to the NOA. The major parties in the case, including Michigan and Stalions, are expected to contest the allegations at an NCAA infractions hearing, the source said. Two parties in the case, former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and former assistant personnel director Denard Robinson, are expected to pursue negotiated resolutions.
The full NOA arrived days before the Tuesday release of a Netflix documentary called “Sign Stealer” that offers Stalions’ version of events. Stalions, a former Michigan staffer who resigned in November, is accused of collecting cellphone footage of opponents’ signals shot from the stands and appearing in disguise on the Central Michigan sideline for a game against Michigan State. He recently joined the staff of Detroit’s Mumford High School as a volunteer defensive coordinator.
Moore, asked earlier this month about his text messages with Stalions, said, “I’ll just say this: I look forward to them being released.”
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(Photo: Kiyoshi Mio / USA Today)
