Sherrone Moore could face a show-cause penalty and a suspension for his involvement in Michigan's sign-stealing scandal.
The new Michigan football head coach is one of seven members from the 2023 Wolverines program accused of violating NCAA rules, according to the NCAA's notice of allegations draft ESPN obtained this weekend.
The draft, which Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel reported could be subject to change, states that Moore could face a show-cause penalty and a suspension for allegedly deleting a thread of 52 text messages with former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions in October 2023.
The draft states Moore deleted the messages the same day that media reports revealed Stalions had created and operated the Wolverines' sign-stealing operation. The draft also states that the NCAA recovered Moore's texts via "device imaging," and Moore "subsequently produced them to the enforcement staff."
In addition to Moore, former Michigan staff members Jim Harbaugh, Chris Partridge, Denard Robinson and Stalions are also accused of committing Level 1 violations. The Michigan athletic department also faces a Level 1 violation due to its "pattern of noncompliance within the football program" and the department's efforts to hinder or thwart the NCAA's investigation, Murphy and Thamel reported. Former coaches Jesse Minter and Steve Clinkscale are also accused of committing recruiting violations unrelated to Stalions.
According to the draft, Harbaugh did not cooperate with the NCAA's investigation because he denied the enforcement staff's requests to view relevant messages and phone records from his cellphone. As a result, Harbaugh could face a show-cause restriction if he ever opts to return to college sports.
The draft does not provide evidence that Harbaugh was involved in Stalions' operations or that he knew about the scheme. However, it states that Harbaugh failed to look for or evaluate "red flags" associated with Stalions as the NCAA alleges that multiple team interns and at least one full-time employee knew about the scheme and participated in it. Stalions led those interns and the employee to believe that what they were doing was not against NCAA rules, the enforcement staff said.
The draft also states that the NCAA gathered evidence that proves Stalions was on the sidelines at Michigan State's 2023 season opener against Central Michigan. Stalions obtained a bench pass and disguised himself as a Central Michigan coach, which "seriously undermined or threatened the integrity of the NCAA collegiate model." Investigators were unable to confirm how Stalions obtained a bench pass for the Chippewas' sideline, the draft states.
According to the draft, Stalions removed hard drives from Michigan's football offices and also gave a football player a sheet containing play-call signals of a future opponent. The draft added that Stalions asked the player to bring the sheet to a team intern's house until he could retrieve it later. Stalions later refused to cooperate with enforcement staff during the NCAA's investigation and would not let the school review his phone.
Lastly, the NCAA alleges Patridge pressured a player to lie or mislead investigators in an effort to "protect" the coaching staff during the NCAA's investigation into Stalions and the Wolverines' football program. Patridge, along with Robinson, Minter and Clinkscale, was also named as a coach who committed Level 2 recruiting violations not associated with the Stalions case.
Michigan, the NCAA and Stalions did not respond to Murphy and Thamel's requests for comment on Sunday.
