CLEVELAND, Ohio – Perhaps you knew Michigan was fined $30 million by the NCAA because of its football program’s signal-stealing scandal.
I didn’t.
Of course I knew about the signal-stealing. That was when Jim Harbaugh was the coach. He has denied any knowledge of it.
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OK, fine.
But I go back to the $30 million in fines …
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Harbaugh also was hit with probation for recruiting violations and was suspended for three games.
Stealing signals …
Recruiting violations …
Michigan’s assistant coach and co-offensive coordinator was fired in 2023 for hacking into the accounts of various students, mostly women. According to the Associated Press:
“Weiss gained access to the databases of more than 100 colleges and universities that were maintained by a third-party vendor, Keffer Development Services, and then downloaded personal information and medical data of more than 150,000 athletes, the indictment states.”
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The case is still in court, and Weiss has pleaded not guilty.
The latest is Michigan coach Sherrone Moore being fired “with cause” for what the university called an “inappropriate” relationship with a staffer. He then was arrested for going to the home of the staff member.
Moore already had received a suspension for his part in the signal-stealing scandal and also in some recruiting violations.
According to an Aug. 15, 2025 ESPN story: “Former assistant coach Denard Robinson was hit with a three-year show-cause penalty for a combined role in recruiting violations that included, according to the NCAA, providing ‘limited inducements to a prospect and his family’ and then failing to ‘respond to the notice of allegations or attend the hearing.’ ”
Jim Harbaugh Big Ten Championship 2021
Ohio State & Michigan
No doubt, Ohio State fans are savoring every unsavory detail of the latest scandal.
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The Buckeyes ended a four-game losing streak to Michigan a few weeks ago. Now this … the Michigan football program is in chaos.
Michigan also has had problems in its men’s basketball and hockey programs recently.
Many Buckeye fans are rejoicing.
But the truth is, you never know …
As in you never know when some type of scandal will hit one of the major college powers. Nearly every top college athletic program has had some regrettable episodes.
Urban Meyer was suspended for three games in 2018 over the way he dealt with domestic-abuse charges aimed at a member of his coaching staff. Current coach Ryan Day filled in for Meyer.
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Meyer announced his retirement from OSU following the 2018 season. He returned to coaching in 2021, moving to Jacksonville in the NFL. He was fired after a 2-11 start to the season and some off-field problems.
Sherrone Moore arraignment
What is the lesson?
Michigan kept ignoring the problems during Harbaugh’s tenure for one reason – he was winning.
I once had a top college basketball coach tell me, “You can do almost anything if you win enough games.”
He wasn’t talking about himself, but about the college coaching culture in general. The man did push the boundaries and later was fired. He also had stopped winning big, as he was doing when he made that comment to me in a casual conversation.
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A major mistake made by Michigan was watching the Harbaugh regime not only have the recruiting violations and the signal-stealing, but also the cover-up. That led to the huge fine from the NCAA.
It was like the Michigan Powers That Be didn’t want to seriously deal with the problems in football for one reason: They were winning a lot of games and beating Ohio State. They even won a national title in the 2023 season.
Those close to the situation had to know this stuff could not just blow up, but go nuclear as the scandals piled up. There were major character questions looming over those in charge.
The big bomb finally dropped with the firing of Moore this week. The former coach landing in jail charged with “third-degree home invasion and two misdemeanor charges of stalking and entering without permission.”
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All of this reeks of what the NCAA calls “lack of institutional control.”
Since Day has taken over, the Buckeyes haven’t had any big scandals. From a distance, I’ve thought Day is a class act along with being a terrific coach.
The key for Ohio State and all these athletic powerhouses is not to let the “knucklehead cheating” go. That phrase came from another college basketball coach, who told me how all the “little things” were shrugged off until they became too big to ignore.
Never say, “It can’t happen here.” Michigan showed how that is a very dangerous lie.
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Read the original article on cleveland.com.