On Friday, the NCAA announced its punishments for Michigan‘s sign-stealing scandal that surfaced in 2023. Along with three former coaches receiving temporary bans from college athletics, Michigan received a series of fines that could eclipse $30 million. Shortly after the ruling was announced, Michigan said it plans to appeal the NCAA’s decision. The Athletic‘s Nicole […]
On Friday, the NCAA announced its punishments for Michigan‘s sign-stealing scandal that surfaced in 2023. Along with three former coaches receiving temporary bans from college athletics, Michigan received a series of fines that could eclipse $30 million.
Shortly after the ruling was announced, Michigan said it plans to appeal the NCAA’s decision. The Athletic‘s Nicole Auerbach provided some more context on Michigan’s decision to fight the ruling.
“To those wondering WHY Michigan would want to appeal today’s ruling: A source says it’s about the severity of the financial penalties,” Auerbach wrote on X. “Previous record-high NCAA fine was $8M (Tennessee) and this one could be over $30M.”
The fines include a $50,000 initial levy, 10% of the football budget, 10% of the cost of football scholarships for the 2025 season and the loss of all postseason competition revenue sharing for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
While it’s unclear exactly how much revenue Michigan makes from postseason competition, the number could reportedly exceed $20 million. In the revenue sharing era, this penalty could affect the money available for Michigan’s football program to distribute to its players.
“It is never our intent to be in a position where we are accused of any rules violations,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement. “I fully support Coach Sherrone Moore, our student-athletes and staff as they prepare for the season ahead. I appreciate Coach Moore’s continued commitment to ensuring his program operates in compliance with applicable rules.
“I acknowledge the Committee on Infractions’ decision to not penalize our current student-athletes by eliminating postseason opportunities; however, a postseason ban should never have been a consideration in this case. I fully support the university’s decision to pursue an appeal. Coach Moore and I will not have any further comment.”
If Michigan ultimately appeals the NCAA’s decision, it should expect a lengthy process. The average Committee on Infractions appeal process takes eight months from the time of the appeal until a resolution is reached, according to the NCAA.
Michigan has 15 days from the decison to declare its intent to appeal, followed by a 30-day deadline to file the written appeal. The COI typically responds within 30 days after the written appeal is submitted.
From there, a 14-day deadline is in place for the parties to file a rebuttal, followed by a 10-day window where NCAA enforcement staff can submit materials. Appellant’s response to the enforcement is due 10 days later, followed by up to two months of verbal debates in front of the Infractions Appeals Committee. Six weeks from then, the Infractions Appeals Committee releases its decision.
Category: General Sports
