ANN ARBOR, Mich. – In monumental news, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said the Michigan Wolverines football program has already paid its price for their involvement in the 2023 sign-stealing scandal.
According to ESPN, Petitti, on Monday (July 21), sent a letter to the NCAA Committee on Infractions arguing Michigan deserved no further punishment in the case involving former staffer Connor Stalions.
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The letter was read at an early June infractions committee hearing in Indianapolis.
The NCAA charged the Wolverines with 11 rule violations, including six Level 1 violations, the most serious classification.
The committee has yet to issue a ruling but is expected to do so before the 2025 season. It is not required to consider Petitti’s opinion.
The Big Ten confirmed that Petitti sent the letter and stated he would have attended the hearing in person, but was recovering from hip replacement surgery at the time.
The NCAA and the University of Michigan declined to comment on the pending case. Petitti also declined to comment through a league spokesperson.
Petitti argued that the Big Ten had already sufficiently punished Michigan by suspending then-coach Jim Harbaugh for the final three games of the 2023 regular season: at Penn State, at Maryland, and at home against Ohio State, in which then offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Sherrone Moore led them to three straight victories before winning the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship.
Reports indicate that the NCAA could still impose penalties ranging from vacating past victories and postseason bans to suspensions for coaches and monetary fines.
Moore and the Wolverines have already implemented a self-imposed two-game suspension for the 2025 season, following the deletion of a thread of text messages with Stalions as the scandal broke.
Head coach Moore, then the team’s offensive coordinator, was not charged with knowledge of Stalions’ actions.
The NCAA could also punish individuals, including Harbaugh, now head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, and Stalions.
Petitti’s letter did not address individual penalties, according to ESPN.
It is not unusual for a league commissioner to advocate for a conference team, as conferences benefit when their programs avoid NCAA sanctions that could affect competitiveness.
What makes Petitti’s stance notable is the contentious relationship between him and Michigan when the allegations first surfaced.
Petitti’s letter comes as a surprise, as the football program previously launched sharp public accusations and hostility toward him.
At the height of the 2023 advanced scouting and sign-stealing scandal, Michigan hit Petitti with a blistering legal filing, claims of personal bias, and a chorus of boos and negative social media posts from fans, especially during the Big Ten Championship vs. the Purdue Boilermakers during the trophy celebration, where the trophy was handed to injured Zak Zinter instead of Harbaugh.
Petitti justified Harbaugh’s suspension by emphasizing that the integrity of competition is the backbone of any sports conference or league in a letter to Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel.
He said that taking immediate action was the appropriate and necessary course of action, in which the men in maize vehemently disagreed.
Michigan argued that due process was not followed, the evidence was inconclusive, and there was no proof that Harbaugh was aware of the Stalions’ activities.
The University of Michigan even sought an emergency temporary restraining order in Washtenaw County Court to allow Harbaugh to continue coaching.
In a fiery court filing, Michigan accused the Big Ten of engaging in fraudulent, unlawful, unethical, unjustified, and wrongful actions, alleging that the league’s conduct has caused irreparable damage to Harbaugh’s and the university’s reputations.
The suspension was called a flagrant breach of fundamental fairness.
Michigan eventually withdrew its request for the restraining order, but the rift remained as Harbaugh was benched.
The suspension became a rallying cry for Michigan players during their undefeated 15-0 season, which began at the start of the season, as Harbaugh was suspended to open the season due to an alleged recruiting violation during the COVID-19 dead period.
Petitti chose not to attend the Ohio State-Michigan game in Ann Arbor that season, where a Rod Moore interception sealed the undefeated regular season 30-24, one of the biggest games in league history. The Big Ten said he was never scheduled to attend.
To Petitti, making Michigan overcome a three-game stretch without its head coach was enough of a penalty.
In his initial 2023 decision, Petitti wrote that the suspension was not about Harbaugh, but rather a sanction against the university.
Petitti also noted that additional disciplinary actions may be necessary or appropriate if the NCAA or Big Ten received additional information concerning the scope and knowledge of, or participation in, the impermissible scheme.
Petitti’s current position suggests no such new information has emerged.