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New Pete Thamel article on the Big Ten ADs meeting with the commissioner.

Sources said the athletic directors left the call with the notion than Petitti is taking the Big Ten's ability to punish Michigan over the allegations more seriously than previously.

The most powerful message, according to sources familiar with the call, came from Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller. He mentioned the alterations in preparation that Michigan State needed to go through prior to its game with Michigan when he received a call on Wednesday of that game week about Michigan having Michigan State's signals.

Haller worried about players potentially getting hurt because Michigan players, in theory, knew where they'd be going on plays.

He also referenced last year, when he said the Big Ten forced Michigan State to suspend numerous players after the tunnel incident in Ann Arbor before the league finished investigating the incident. He pointed out that it was hypocritical that this year, with Michigan under investigation, the league is now waiting for an investigation to unfold.

Haller is not typically one of the more vocal athletic directors on calls, so both his voice and the passion he spoke with resonated with the athletic directors and Big Ten officials on the call, sources said.