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2 former Michigan football coaches settle with NCAA, receive show-cause orders
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- 2 former Michigan football coaches settle with NCAA, receive show-cause orders
A pair of former Michigan football coaches have agreed to separate resolutions with the NCAA for recruiting transgressions during their tenure in Ann Arbor.
The agreements for Jesse Minter, the Wolverines' defensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023, and Steve Clinkscale, U-M's defensive backs coach from 2021-23, were both approved by the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions, allowing them to begin serving the punishments immediately.
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Minter acknowledged "multiple" impermissible recruiting contacts prior to June 15 of the pending recruits' sophomore season in high school, which is against NCAA rules. According to the NCAA's release, Minter "was aware that these communications were impermissible but did not report the violations to the school's compliance department."
Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter watches a play against Iowa during the first half of the Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023.
As a result, Minter, who is now the defensive coordinator under former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh for the Los Angeles Chargers , has accepted a one-year show-cause order. It states that any institution which may employ him is obligated to restrict him from "any athletically-related position."
The entire release can be found here.
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Clinkscale, meanwhile, agreed to violations with the committee that acknowledged giving impermissible benefits to potential recruits and/or their families during active recruitment.
Additionally, the committee and Clinkscale both agreed that following his departure from Ann Arbor, when he too joined Harbaugh in L.A., he "failed to fully satisfy his obligation to cooperate with the investigation" by not providing "complete information" during an interview before later noting the violations which occurred and his role in them.
Clinkscale's resolution includes a two-year show-cause order, where like Minter, any institution that may employ him must restrict him from all athletically-related positions. The second portion of the agreement states that should he be employed again by an NCAA institution, he will immediately be suspended from half of that team's regular-season football games in the first year.
Michigan co-defensive coordinator Steve Clinkscale watches a play against Maryland during the first half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022.
Like Minter, Clinkscale may begin serving his punishment while the committee continues toward its final decision on the other "contested portion of the case," which continues its investigation into the Michigan football program and five separate individuals.
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The full NCAA release can be found here.
Perhaps the most serious portion of the remaining litigation is the allegation for the Michigan football's program for "pattern of noncompliance," which would be a Level I violation, the most serious of infractions. Previously, Harbaugh was found to have failed to "promote an atmosphere of compliance" and was handed a four-year show-cause order, which runs through Aug. 6, 2028.
Neither of the above agreements, nor Harbaugh's, are related to a separate pending NCAA investigation into former recruiting staffer Connor Stalions, who is alleged to have created a sign-stealing scheme which consisted of sending individuals to games in person, using technology to record signs from future and potential future opponents, in order to later decipher them.
Coach Sherrone Moore, who has already reached a negotiated resolution for reaching out to recruits during a COVID-19 dead period, is still being investigated for allegedly deleting 52 text messages with Stalions. Should Moore be found to have committed these infractions as well, he could be charged as a repeat offender, having already reached one resolution.
Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines during the first half against the Connecticut Huskies at Michigan Stadium, Saturday, September 17, 2022.
Additionally, former recruiting staffer and one-time star quarterback Denard Robinson , who was let go from the program last spring after he was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, is also accused of providing impermissible benefits to recruits.
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Also, former linebackers coach Chris Partridge, who was fired on Nov. 17, 2023 , is still under investigation for allegedly attempting to persuade a player to mislead NCAA investigators when they came asking questions, in addition to impermissible on-campus training sessions with prospects.
Michigan told Partridge in his termination letter he "failed to satisfactorily perform your duties" after "the University ... received evidence that (he has) failed to abide by the University directive not to discuss an ongoing NCAA investigation with anyone associated with the Michigan Football Program."
The NCAA Committee on Infractions will continue its investigation into the program and the above five individuals.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2 former Michigan football coaches settle with NCAA, receive penalties
