The Michigan Wolverines are in the midst of one of their best seasons in recent memory, but it seems like they’ll now have to deal with a bit of a scandal after some recent cheating allegations.
According to a report from Yahoo Sports this week, the Michigan Wolverines are being investigated by the NCAA for allegations related to sign stealing with two opponents telling Yahoo Sports that they became aware that Michigan knew their play signs.
While sign stealing itself is not technically illegal, the NCAA does prohibit off-campus, in-person scouting, and that seems to be the focal point of the allegation.
“Teams are normally provided extensive video footage to scout opponents. At issue, according to sources, is whether Michigan used unnamed individuals to attend games of both scheduled opponents and possible College Football Playoff opponents in an effort to gather information on the signs they use to call both offensive and defensive plays,” Yahoo Sports wrote.
The Big Ten Conference confirmed that the NCAA is conducting an investigation into the Michigan Wolverines following allegations of sign stealing, issuing a statement on Thursday afternoon.
“Late Wednesday afternoon, the Big Ten Conference and University of Michigan were notified by the NCAA that the NCAA was investigating allegations of sign stealing by the University of Michigan football program,” the Big Ten said in a subsequent statement released Thursday. “The Big Ten Conference has notified Michigan State University and future opponents. The Big Ten Conference considers the integrity of competition to be of utmost importance and will continue to monitor the investigation. The Conference will have no further comment at this time.”
The Wolverines are currently 7-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country – a legitimate national title contender so far this season.
