A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
NCAA has slapped a massive fine on the University of Michigan football team for stealing signs. That is, spying on other teams to figure out the signals they use during games. The NCAA says the scandal goes back years, to the team's championship in 2023. Larry Lage is a sports reporter who goes back even further with Michigan football. He's been covering the Wolverines for nearly 25 years for The Associated Press.
So, Larry, I don't know of any team that doesn't at least try to figure out another team's signs. So what did Michigan do that wasn't allowed?
LARRY LAGE: What was against the rules that Michigan did? They had staff designing schemes to have people go to other games and record with cellphones what the signs were from the other teams to decipher what, you know, the signs were and what the play was coming. And that is against the NCAA rules.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. So what's different than, say, going to scout a team in advance, as opposed to what Michigan was accused of doing?
LAGE: Well, you just can't send people to other games. That's what is impermissible. You cannot send scouts to other games, up in the press box or in the stands, to watch games, and certainly to steal signs. That is against the NCAA rules, and that is what Michigan was caught doing.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, and definitely not recording them, right? I mean, that - then you go way too far.
LAGE: Yes. And Connor Stalions, the low-level staffer who was behind this whole scheme, admitted to the NCAA that he threw his phone in the bottom of a pond to conceal the evidence.
MARTÍNEZ: Wow. Now, how big of a penalty are we talking about?
LAGE: Well, tens of millions of dollars. And Sherrone Moore is going to be suspended for three games - two games this year, which was a self-imposed sanction, and one additional game next year. So in an era where universities' athletic departments have to come up with millions of dollars to pay student athletes in a new revenue-sharing model, now Michigan also has to come up with tens of millions of dollars. And they came up with this fine. Instead of banning Michigan from bowl games, which would hurt current players and coaches that had nothing to do with it, the NCAA decided to fine Michigan in essence what they would have made in bowl games in the next two years.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. And you mentioned Sherrone Moore. That's the Michigan head football coach. So he's going to be not at at least a couple of games coming up. Wondering, though - Michigan went 40 and 3 in that time that they were accused of doing all this sign-stealing stuff. I mean, how good were they, then? Can we question how good they were, or were they just going to be pretty good regardless of whether they stole signs or not?
LAGE: Well, after the Michigan Wolverines won the national championship in 2023, the NCAA president said that the Michigan Wolverines won this championship - that championship fair and square. So, you know, we'll never really know. They have a ton of NFL players. They have Jim Harbaugh, who's now with the Los Angeles Chargers. So they had the best of the best playing and coaching. But we'll never really know how much Connor Stalions did provide a competitive advantage or not.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's Larry Lage, sports reporter for The Associated Press. Larry, thanks a lot.
LAGE: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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