The Connor Stalions scandal at Michigan has a verdict and a sentence, but it's still not over. Michigan plans to appeal its slap-on-the-wrist, but one of the central questions still remains: how did Stalions get on Central Michigan's sideline for its Sept. 1, 2023 game at Michigan State, and why was he there?
Asked directly about his disguised presence in Netflix's documentary Untold, Stalions denied being there. "I don't recall attending a specific game there, no," Stalions told NCAA investigators last year, as shown in the documentary. To the Netflix cameras, Stalions held up the photo of him on the sidelines and said, "I don't even think this guy looks like me."
NCAA investigators did, finding that was indeed him on the sideline for the Chippewas-Spartans game in East Lansing.
On one occasion in 2023, Stalions personally engaged in-person scouting when he stood on Central Michigan University's sideline wearing a bench pass and disguised in Central Michigan-issued coaching gear during the institution’s contest against Michigan State.
The outside assumption was always that a CMU staffer was doing Stalions a solid by allowing him to get an in-the-flesh look at Michigan State's signaling operation ahead of Michigan's game with MSU later that season. But the NCAA found that Stalions was also helping CMU that night as well.
According to interview statements by a former football staff member, Stalions attended that game in part to decipher Michigan State’s signals, but also to help a Central Michigan staff member with play calling.
CBS Detroit is now reporting that Stalions did not reach out to Central Michigan to attend the game, but instead CMU requested Stalions's help. (The game took place on a Friday night; Michigan was home against East Carolina the following afternoon.) From the station:
Two sources with direct knowledge of the incident confirmed to CBS News Detroit that a CMU coach initiated contact with Stalions and that then-head coach Jim McElwain was likely aware of and approved of the arrangement to secure Stalions a sideline credential and outfit him in CMU-issued gear.
Stalions' presence on CMU's sidelines has fueled a wave of speculation and theories, largely because it unfolded in the middle of the NCAA's broader investigation into Michigan football for advanced scouting and sign stealing. There has been a question whether or not Stalions somehow snuck onto the sidelines on his own accord. According to the CMU source, Stalions' role during CMU's game against MSU was the result of a direct request from CMU's staff, with the sole purpose of assisting their program for that game.
Central Michigan's culpability has been a major question throughout this saga, with CMU largely staying mum throughout the process. "For the past ten months, CMU has fully cooperated with the NCAA's ongoing investigation, and we will continue to cooperate with the NCAA as it works to complete its investigation," the program said after the documentary was released last August.
Three CMU staffers at the time were at Michigan at the same time as Stalions: then-CMU head coach Jim McElwain (now a special assistant to the AD at CMU), former quarterbacks coach Jake Kostner (resigned in September), and defensive backs coach Mike Zordich (took at job at Youngstown State following McElwain's retirement).
“We were unaware, totally unaware of it, and I certainly don’t condone [coordinated, illegal in-person scouting and possible sign-stealing] in any way, shape or form,” McElwain said in October 2023.