According to an ESPN report, a draft version of a Notice of Allegations to be delivered to Michigan includes penalties for head coach Sherrone Moore and five former staffers. This NOA is related to the investigation into the advanced scouting scheme orchestrated by Connor Stalions, but many of the allegations stem from other activities.
Moore’s name is mentioned for reportedly deleting text messages with Stalions from the day the news broke of his alleged scheme. The messages were later recovered, and Moore “subsequently produced them to enforcement staff,” according to the report.
There is no information on what the text messages said.
The NCAA may punish Moore as a “repeat offender” due to the negotiated resolution from recruiting violations during the Covid-19 dead period.
Former head coach Jim Harbaugh “is accused of not cooperating because he denied the NCAA’s request to view relevant messages and phone records from his personal cellphone” according to the report.
The report states Michigan itself is accused of a Level I violation “due to its “pattern of noncompliance within the football program” and institutional efforts to hinder or thwart the NCAA’s investigation.”
Chris Partridge, Steve Clinkscale, Denard Robinson, and Jesse Minter were found to have commit recruiting violations, according to the report:
“Partridge, Clinkscale and Robinson are all accused of providing impermissible benefits to recruits in 2023, including paying for a recruit’s meal and providing recruits with team gear. Clinkscale is also accused of helping a recruit get verified on Instagram and for writing a $100 check to a golf charity outing that was run by a recruit’s father. Partridge and former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter are accused of Level 2 violations for sending text messages to a recruit who was still a sophomore in high school.”
When it comes to Stalions and the advanced scouting scheme that was being investigated, nothing is mentioned in terms of connections to the coaching staff. However, this report details for the first time that “multiple team interns and at least one other full-time team employee knew about the scheme and participated in it.” The draft says that Stalions led those individuals to believe that what they were doing was not against the rules.
The report also states that the NOA will confirm what has long been assumed: that Connor Stalions was indeed on the sidelines for the Central Michigan vs. Michigan State game. Stalions had a bench pass and was wearing Central Michigan gear, showing coordination between Stalions and someone at Central Michigan. The NOA does not explain how Stalions got onto the sidelines or Central’s coordination. That may come in an NOA to Central.
This is only a report on a draft of the notice of allegations, and we will have to wait to see more details when a final NOA is delivered. That, of course, will only be the start of a process that could drag into the summer of 2025 before any resolution is reached.
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