Michigan sign-stealing punishment: NCAA hammers Wolverines with massive fine, stops short of postseason ban despite

saying ban is 'required in this case'

At long last, nearly two years after its initial discovery, the Michigan sign-stealing decision is in. The Wolverines avoided a postseason ban, but were hit with a series of fines that could exceed $35 million, plus an additional game suspension for head coach Sherrone Moore.

In a document sent to the school Friday, the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions sanctioned the Wolverines with the following penalties:

• A fine equivalent to the anticipated loss of all postseason competition revenue sharing associated with the 2025 and 2026 football seasons
• 10-year show-cause penalty for former head coach Jim Harbaugh
• 8-year show-cause penalty for former staffer Connor Stalions
• Additional game suspension + 2-year show-cause penalty for head coach Sherrone Moore • Four years probation
• 3-year show-cause penalty for former assistant Denard Robinson
• $50,000 fine, plus 10% of the budget for the football program
• A fine equivalent to the cost of 10% of the scholarships awarded in Michigan's football program for the 2025-26 academic year
• A 25% reduction in football official visits during the 2025-26 season
• 14-week prohibition on recruiting communications in the football program during the probation period

The committee, a group independent of the NCAA but charged with prescribing penalties for violations, did not include in its sanctions a ban from the postseason or any vacated victories or championships despite asserting in its findings that "a postseason ban is required in this case." The Wolverines won the Big Ten and College Football Playoff titles in the months after the NCAA’s investigation began in October of 2023.

https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/michigan-sign-stealing-punishment-ncaa-hammers-wolverines-with-massive-fine-stops-short-of-postseason-ban-despite-saying-ban-is-required-in-this-case-145329998.html