The NCAA finally levied its punishments against Michigan football in the Connor Stalions case, which proved to be relatively minor.
The national championship is safe. None of the wins are vacated. There isn't a postseason ban and even the NCAA acknowledged it has no idea how much the scheme helped Michigan football.
That was all expected, at least from Michigan football fans. Only Ohio State fans have been gullible enough to believe that the "hammer" was going to drop. They truly believed that the Wolverines were going to be given some sort of SMU-like death penalty.
Instead, the NCAA added one more game to Michigan's self-imposed two-game suspension for Sherrone Moore. However, one thing some are overlooking is the fact that Chris Partridge, an assistant coach fired by Michigan during the 2023 season, was vindicated.
Lost in all the suspensions is an innocent man. Chris Partridge was fired from the University of Michigan for after the investigation, doing nothing wrong. Completely exonerated!! #exonerated https://t.co/sH5eFlKdT5
— Ryan Partridge (@CoachPart) August 15, 2025
Partridge was fired by Michigan for not following a university directive to not discuss the case. Partridge was accused of pressuring players to lie to NCAA investigators. Well, since there was no punishment for Partridge, he was cleared of any wrongdoing.
It's hard to say if he discussed the case at all with players. However, it could have been in a generic sense, and not in a way that violated that NCAA rules, which is clear now, or the directive.
There has been talk of a lawsuit due to what he deems wrongful termination. We'll see what happens there, but it seems pretty clear that the NCAA dragged the name of Partridge through the mud for no good reason.
Unfortunately, on the Michigan side of things, he wasn't the only one.