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Report: Michigan staffer being investigated bought tickets to at least 30 Big Ten games
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- Report: Michigan staffer being investigated bought tickets to at least 30 Big Ten games
The evidence against Connor Stalions , the Michigan football staffer at the center of the NCAA investigation into sign-stealing allegations, is beginning to mount, according to ESPN's latest report .
The report, published Monday afternoon, said Stalions purchased tickets to over 30 games at 11 Big Ten schools over the last three years. The tickets were distributed electronically to different people around the country. Schools confirmed the tickets were used for those games.
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The sources quoted by ESPN also said that people who sat in the seats purchased by Stalions filmed the home sideline with a smart phone during a game earlier this year. He allegedly also had tickets on both sidelines of this past weekend's Ohio State-Penn State game, but no one sat in the seats after he became a person of interest in the investigation.
The NCAA investigation is looking into whether Michigan scouted future opponents in person , which was barred by NCAA rules starting in 1994. The use of technology to scout opponents is also prohibited by the NCAA rulebook, which states: "Any attempt to record, either through audio or video means, any signals given by an opposing player, coach or other team personnel is prohibited."
OPINION: It's time for Michigan's Jim Harbaugh to drop the self-righteous act.
Stalions made the purchases under his own name with a personal credit card, according to the report. The tickets cost thousands of dollars for Stalions, who made $55,000 annually, according to the 2022 university salary disclosure report .
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Michigan suspended Stalions on Friday , with pay, pending conclusion of the investigation. He was hired by the university in May 2022 as an off-field analyst. He attended the Naval Academy from 2013-16 and assisted with the Midshipmen football team. He was stationed at a military base in California from 2015-22, while at the same time serving as a voluntary assistant for Michigan, according to his now-deleted LinkedIn.
Among the skills Stalions wrote about on LinkedIn were "identifying the opponent's most likely course of action and most dangerous course of action" and "identifying and exploiting critical vulnerabilities and centers of gravity in the opponent scouting process," ESPN's article states.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh denied the allegations last week, saying he had no knowledge of it and did not direct anyone on staff to do so. After the Wolverines beat Michigan State 49-0 Saturday, he reiterated the claim and called the outside noise a "target" on the team's back .
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement last week "that U-M Athletics will offer complete cooperation to the NCAA in this matter."
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This could spell more trouble between the NCAA and Harbaugh, who already served a three-game suspension this year imposed by the school and remains in the governing body's crosshairs for impermissible recruiting and coaching penalties during the COVID-19 dead period.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan staffer Connor Stalions bought Big Ten game tickets: report
