Michigan Digs In for NCAA Fight, Broadly Maintains Innocence in Connor Stalions Case

A year after Michigan's national championship, the NCAA's investigation into allegations that it ran a robust, impermissible in-person scouting scheme continues.

The Wolverines do not intend to negotiate a resolution with college sports's governing body and broadly maintained their institutional innocence in a 137-page response to the NCAA earlier this month, Yahoo! Sports's Ross Dellenger reported Tuesday afternoon.

"The school purports that the sign-stealing system offered 'minimal relevance to competition,' was not credibly proven by NCAA investigators and should be treated as a minor violation," Dellenger wrote.

The alleged scheme—believed to have been masterminded by staffer Connor Stalions—cast a bizarre light over Michigan's first national title since 1997. Then-Wolverines and now-Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh served a three-game suspension over the allegations late in the season, after serving a three-game suspension to begin the season over different recruiting violations.

Notable information in the document reported on by Dellenger includes the suggestion that the alleged scheme's original leaker had an affiliation with Michigan, content of some of Stalions's texts with now-Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore, and a rundown of two episodes in which Michigan says people around the program raised concern about Stalions's actions.

The Wolverines went 8–5 this past season, struggling at times but closing their campaign with wins over No. 2 Ohio State and No. 11 Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl.