Both the University of Michigan and head coach Sherron Moore have withdrawn their appeals of NCAA violations related to advanced scouting activities.
Moore withdrew his appeal of the case on Sept. 29, and the university followed suit on Oct. 6, according to the NCAA Division I Infractions Dashboard.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions announced in August that Michigan had committed several Level I violations regarding impermissible off-campus scouting. The scheme, led by former employee Connor Stalions, was designed to aid in the theft of game signs from opponents. It ran for the 2021, 2022 and part of the 2023 seasons.
Michigan was fined a total of up to $30 million but avoided a postseason ban or revocation of past victories, including the 2023 season in which the Wolverines won the national championship.
Moore, meanwhile, was fined two years and suspended for three games over two seasons. Moore, now Michigan's head coach but the offensive coordinator during the offense, served two games in September and is scheduled to play in next year's opener against Western Michigan.
Both the school and the coach initially promised to appeal the fines.
“In a number of cases, the decision makes fundamental errors in its interpretation of NCAA bylaws; and it includes a number of findings that are directly inconsistent with the evidence—or lack of evidence—in the record,” the university said at the time.
Neither the university nor his coach are currently fighting the matter, but the database says it is officially ending appeals in the case.
The NCAA also handed down an eight-year penalty to the Stallions and a 10-year penalty to former coach Jim Harbaugh, who now plays in the NFL for the Los Angeles Chargers. Essentially, they act as a barrier to schools hiring them in the future. Harbaugh's new appearance penalty won't begin until he serves his current four-year sentence, which expires in 2028, in the previous NCAA case.
This appeal decision has nothing to do with these cases.
The scandal rocked college football during the second half of the 2023 season. The Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for three games, citing a violation of the league's sportsmanship policy, but the Wolverines won each of them – at Penn State, at Maryland and against Ohio State – en route to a 15-0 season and a national championship.
Michigan is currently 6-2 on the season and ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press poll.
