It's been two years since the college football world was rocked by the sign-stealing operation Connor Stalions orchestrated at Michigan, and there was one loose thread that had yet to be firmly tied up after a lengthy investigation: his presence on the Central Michigan sideline during a game. However, the NCAA has finally gotten to the bottom of things while punishing the school (and some coaches) for its role.
At this point, I don't think I need to rehash the scandal that led to Michigan finding itself at the center of an NCAA investigation after Connor Stalions was exposed for traveling to games featuring upcoming opponents in order to steal the signals they used to communicate plays.
The Wolverines ended up winning a national championship just a couple of months after the scheme came to light, and plenty of college football fans would tell you it deserves an asterisk. Jim Harbaugh subsequently left for the NFL and escaped the 10-year show-cause penalty he was hit with in the wake of an NCAA investigation that also forced Michigan to cough up sanctions that could end up costing the school upwards of $30 million.
The university, along with current head coach Sherrod Moore (who was ordered to serve a three-game suspension across two seasons), initially appealed the punishment but recently opted to wave the white flag.
That would have essentially brought the saga to an end if not for some unanswered questions surrounding Stalions' presence at a Central Michigan game, but it would appear that mystery has also been solved.
Stalions landed in hot water for a scheme that largely revolved around buying tickets to games to steal signals from other teams while sitting in the stands. However, we were treated to a pretty wild development when some eagle-eyed detectives noticed he was posted up on the Central Michigan sideline during their showdown with Michigan State in 2023.
In August, a report surfaced that suggested he'd gotten some help from some Chippewas staffers, and that is the conclusion the NCAA came to after conducting an investigation before releasing its findings to the public on Thursday.
Former CMU quarterbacks coach Jake Kostner had initially emerged as a prime suspect, as the man who'd previously served as Harbaugh's assistant at Michigan was fired around a month before the season was set to get underway in 2024.
According to the NCAA's report, he was the mastermind who hatched the plan to get Stalions (who he knew from his days in Ann Arbor) on the sideline, as he invited him to the game while working with equipment manager Nate Mason and recruiting director Mike McGee (who were accused of misleading NCAA investigators) to get him the apparel and field pass he was sporting on the sideline.
It does not appear ex-CMU head coach Jim McElwain (who retired at the end of the 2024 season after learning he'd been targeted in the investigation) was involved or even aware of Stalions' presence, but the NCAA nonetheless determined he was still culpable as the leader of the team.
Kostner was subsequently hit with a four-year show-cause punishment, while Mason, McGree, and McElwain received a two-year "sentence." Central Michigan will also be placed on probation for the next two years in addition to forking over a $30,000 fine and 1% the football team's budget.