At last, the NCAA's investigation into alleged advanced scouting by former Michigan football assistant Connor Stalions is complete.
Everything has been completed except for the punishment phase. Now, that's coming to an end soon, as Pete Thamel of ESPN has reported that the NCAA intends to release the punishments for Michigan football, along with the findings of the investigation, on Friday.
The NCAA has formally notified parties tied to the Michigan NCAA infractions case that an announcement on the findings and punishments will be publicly released on Friday, sources tell me and @DanWetzel.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 14, 2025
"The NCAA has formally notified parties tied to the Michigan NCAA infractions case that an announcement on the findings and punishments will be publicly released on Friday, sources tell me and (Dan Wetzel)," Thamel posted on X.
There were rumblings earlier this week that the announcement of the punishment was coming. Multiple Michigan reporters reported it this week. Josh Henschke of the Maize and Blue Review, along with Chris Balas of The Wolverine, have reported that they don't expect any punishments beyond a big fine, show-cause penalties for Jim Harbaugh and Connor Stalions, as well as the suspension for Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore.
"Hammer watch" is over and it's not coming
It was reported earlier this summer that Michigan proposed a two-game suspension. Who knows if that became the final resolution, but if the NCAA punishes Moore beyond two games, Michigan should appeal and take it to court.
The Wolverines shouldn't be without their head coach for two weeks. But if the NCAA tries to push it farther, Michigan finally needs to fight back, as it should have done when the Big Ten suspended Jim Harbaugh.
It will be interesting to see how much information about the "findings" are released. There were flat-out lies put out by the media such as the thing being funded by "Uncle T" who doesn't exist. That was false, just like when Pat Forde reported that Michigan was using ball boys to steal signs during games, which is nearly impossible if you actually take two seconds to think about it.
Truly, this might be the biggest witch hunt in sports history. It's right up there with deflategate. Two meaningless scandals that were blown way out of proportion. Hopefully, Friday is the first step in the truth finally being revealed, instead of leaks and media narratives pushed by rivals.
Michigan didn't cheat. It won the national championship fair and square. Charlie Baker, the NCAA President, agreed. Michigan was actually put at an incredible disadvantage.
It's a good thing the 2023 Wolverines were an all-time great team. That's why they won the national championship, went undefeated, beat Ohio State, and won the Big Ten, even with the deck stacked against them for no legitimate reason.
Regardless of Friday's outcome, at least there will finally be some closure to this entire thing, except for the Ohio State fans who can't accept the reality of 0-4.