Sherrone Moore could face discipline for his alleged involvement in Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Dan Murphy reported Sunday that the new Wolverines head coach is one of seven members of last year’s staff accused of violating NCAA rules. A draft of the notice of allegations said Moore could get penalized for deleting 52 text messages from Connor Stalions, who resigned after leading a scheme to illegally scout future opponents in person.
Thamel discussed his reporting on Monday morning’s Get Up . When host Mike Greenberg asked for the “most dramatic scenario” of punishment the NCAA could throw at Moore, the ESPN journalist still predicted a relatively modest penalty.
Furthermore, Thamel doesn’t foresee the NCAA vacating any of Michigan’s wins or last season’s national championship.
“I would think Sherrone Moore faces a short suspension — if you look at the history of this stuff — at the maximum,” Thamel said. “To go through sort of the matrix of what could happen to Michigan in this, I don’t think they’re going to have any type of postseason ban. I don’t think, looking at history and looking at past precedent in this, there’s going to be any type of retroactive anything to what they’ve already won and accomplished. Their accomplishments are safe.”
According to Thamel, the NCAA’s notice detailed cases of illegal in-person scouting at 53 games from 2021 to 2023. Moore faces a Level II violation while the University of Michigan could receive a more severe Level I violation for “a pattern of non-compliance” related to recruiting violations during the COVID dead period in 2020.
Thamel called Moore the “face” of the notice because former head coach Jim Harbaugh moved to the NFL. Depending on litigation, he believes it could take weeks or even months before the NCAA issues any discipline.
Meanwhile, Paul Finebaum said Michigan lawyers are prepared to fight against any punishment beyond “a slap on the wrist.”
Related: College Football Fans React To Sunday’s Troubling Michigan Report