While Notre Dame hasn’t played Michigan since 2019, they are still viewed as a big rival for the Irish.
On Friday, as the season approaches, the NCAA announced the penalty for the Wolverines surrounding its intricate sign stealing accusations as reported by Pete Thamel. Michigan will be on four years probation, a $50,000 fine with 10% of the budget for the football program, a fine that equates to all postseason revenue share, along with another fine of 10% of the costs of scholarships awarded. The total amount of fines could be close to $30 million.
There will also be a 25% reduction in official visits during the 2025 and 2026 seasons, and multiple people got show clauses including its former head coach Jim Harbaugh for 10-years, who now is in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers. He previously was given a 4-year show cause penalty in 2024 for a different case.
Both Connor Stallions (8-years) and Denard Robinson (3-years) also received show clauses, while current head coach Sherrone Moore got a 2-year show-cause order, and added another game suspension making it 3-games total.
The Wolverines picked the games that Moore will not coach, which doesn’t make any sense, as they opted for Moore to miss games three and four, while the NCAA added the first game of the 2026 season. He’s also not allowed to coach or be with the team during those suspension weeks.
It seems like Michigan got off pretty easy on this one, as there was no bowl or College Football Playoff ban, along with not vacating any of their wins during that period. Once again the NCAA has a questionable ruling on a team breaking the rules, one that impacted many during a run where the Wolverines made the CFP twice, winning it in 2024.
Do you agree with the sanctions? Or are they too light?
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