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The Michigan Wolverines find themselves surrounded by controversy given another rule breaking scandal. The program is being accused of sending a mole into opposing stadiums to not only scout upcoming foes, but potentially steal signs from the sidelines.
It’s the second major off-field headline in Ann Arbor this season as head coach Jim Harbaugh has already served a three-game suspension for his part in past recruiting violations.
The Wolverines have been dominant this year, reeling off eight straight wins. None of those contests have been closer than 24 points with UM’s average scoring margin coming in at 41-6.
With recent news of the infractions circulating, a shadow of doubt has been cast upon that successful start.
Reports surfaced late last week of the football program sending a staff member into opposing Big Ten venues to scout and record the sidelines in hopes of stealing signals. That staffer, Connor Stalions, purchased tickets on at least 30 occasions at 11 Big Ten schools over the past three years.
An opposing Big Ten school looked up in-stadium surveillance video from a game earlier this year, and sources said the person in the seat of the ticket purchased by Stalions held his smartphone up and appeared to film the home team’s sideline the entire game.
Sources confirmed to ESPN that Stalions purchased tickets on both sides of the stadium — across from each bench — for Ohio State‘s game with Penn State on Saturday. Michigan plays both teams in upcoming weeks. According to sources, the tickets purchased by Stalions were not used Saturday.
Stalions has been suspended with pay by the university, but with his name going public, social media users are beginning to do their part in the investigation.
Social media detective scours Michigan coach’s Venmo timeline.
One X account did some digging into Stalions’ Venmo history in hopes of finding evidence.
Upon basic analysis of Connor Stalions Venmo he sure does have a lot of people paying him back for “t-shirt” orders pic.twitter.com/WgDCEFKq4E
— max (@Juicewag) October 23, 2023
The internet sleuth keyed in on the abundant number of t-shirt orders in Stalions’ history. Code name for tickets? That might be a stretch.
Still, it sparked a reaction in the comments section that could show legitimate evidence of actual ticket purchases.
Take this screen shot showing a transaction last December with the caption “GA.” It happened to be a day before a College Football Playoff game between Georgia and Ohio State. Of course, that instance wouldn’t have mattered given the Wolverines’ loss to TCU.
Or this charge from the 2021 season with a former Navy football player. The Midshipmen happened to play a home game against Cincinnati the weekend prior to the payment request, a team that would make the CFP field alongside Michigan that same postseason.
Coincidence or connecting the dots?
Whether this actually proves anything is still up for debate. Being caught on video surveillance in opposing venues recording the sidelines, however, could prove problematic.
One thing this Venmo thread did achieve was getting every college football fan on the same page in their criticisms of the Michigan coach.
“I can’t believe he wouldn’t make his transactions private,” was a common response in the comments section. Even national media was dumbfounded by Stalions’ boldness in the operation.
“He purchased all these tickets in his own name (!) which is remarkably brazen,” said Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic.
“Why are people not using burner phones to commit college football blunders in 2023? Why do they use their real names, emails, and real credit cards? Do they not sell visa gift cards in Michigan?” asked CBS Sports’ Bud Elliott.
With that being the case, Michigan probably deserves what they get when all is said and done.