NCAA to Publicly Announce Michigan Investigation Findings and Punishments on Friday

The wait is almost over.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel, the NCAA has informed parties involved in Michigan’s infractions case that it will announce punishments for the Wolverines’ sign-stealing scandal on Friday. The Detroit News’ Angelique Chengelis reports the punishments will be released by noon.

The NCAA has formally notified parties tied to the Michigan NCAA infractions case that an announcement on the findings and punishments will be publicly released on Friday, sources tell me and @DanWetzel. — Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 14, 2025

The NCAA has charged Michigan with 11 total violations, including six Level I allegations, stemming from both Connor Stalions’ sign-stealing scheme and a separate recruiting investigation.

While exact details from the NCAA's Notice of Allegations and hearings remain unknown, Thamel and ESPN's Dan Murphy reported in August 2024 that Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore could face a show-cause penalty and suspension for deleting a thread of 52 text messages with Stalions in October 2023. Thamel and Wetzel reported in May that Michigan has proposed a two-game suspension for Moore.

Thamel and Murphy also reported in August 2024 that former Michigan staff members Jim Harbaugh, Chris Partridge, Denard Robinson and Stalions were accused of committing Level I violations. The same went for Michigan's athletic department, which the NCAA stated had allowed "a pattern of noncompliance with the football program" and attempted to hinder or thwart its investigation into the Wolverines.

According to a draft of the NCAA's NOA obtained by Thamel and Murphy, Harbaugh did not cooperate with the NCAA's investigation because he denied the enforcement staff's requests to view relevant messages and phone records from his cellphone. As a result, Harbaugh could face a show-cause restriction if he ever opts to return to college sports.

The draft did not provide evidence that Harbaugh was involved in Stalions' operations or that he knew about the scheme. However, it stated that Harbaugh failed to look for or evaluate "red flags" associated with Stalions, as the NCAA alleges that multiple team interns and at least one full-time employee knew about the scheme and participated in it. Stalions led those interns and the employee to believe that what they were doing was not against NCAA rules, the enforcement staff said.

According to the draft, Stalions removed hard drives from Michigan's football offices and also gave a football player a sheet containing play-call signals of a future opponent. The draft added that Stalions asked the player to bring the sheet to a team intern's house until he could retrieve it later. Stalions later refused to cooperate with enforcement staff during the NCAA's investigation and would not let the school review his phone.

When the NCAA announces Michigan's punishments on Friday, it will bring to a close an almost two-year saga for the Wolverines' sign-stealing saga, with the earliest reports about Stalions' advanced scouting scheme coming to light in October 2023.

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