NCAA President Says Michigan Earned Title ‘Fair and Square’ amid Sign-Stealing Probe

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 11, 2024

Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images

NCAA president Charlie Baker said Wednesday that he didn’t regret making both Michigan and the Big Ten aware that his organization had been made aware of sign-stealing allegations regarding the football program, though added that the Wolverines’ national championship wasn’t tarnished.

“I don’t regret doing it because sitting on that information, given the comprehensiveness of it, I think we would have put everyone including Michigan in an awful place,” he told reporters. “At the end of the day, no one believes at this point that Michigan didn’t win the national title fair and square. So I think we did the right thing.”

While the NCAA’s investigation continues, there were immediate consequences. The Big Ten suspended head coach Jim Harbaugh three games to end the regular season, embattled analyst Connor Stalions—believed to be the ring-leader of the potential sign-stealing scandal—resigned and assistant coach Chris Partridge was fired.

In total, Harbaugh was suspended six games in 2023, having served a separate three-game absence—this one self-imposed by Michigan—for alleged recruiting violations. More sanctions could be coming for the head coach and the program depending on the outcomes of those ongoing inquiries by the NCAA.

It may not matter much for Harbaugh, who could be off to the NFL this offseason.

As for the NCAA’s decision to share its information with Michigan and the Big Ten, the decision ultimately brought the situation into the public light, making it far less likely the Wolverines would continue with any sign-stealing scheme given the added scrutiny the school suddenly faced.

It also allowed the Big Ten to take its own measures while the NCAA continued its investigation. The opponents Michigan faced earlier in the season, before the scandal became a predominant national news story, might have their own opinions on whether the school’s run to a national championship was all “fair and square.”

But Baker stood by his approach to the situation.

“It might affect the outcome of games, and I don’t believe, at the end of the season, that it did,” he told reporters regarding the sign-stealing scandal. “And I think that’s important.”

Harbaugh had his own take on the matter.

“We’re innocent, and we stood strong and tall because we knew we were innocent—I’d like to point that out,” he told reporters Monday. “These guys are innocent. To overcome that, it wasn’t that hard because we knew we were innocent. (The season) went exactly how we wanted it to go.”