Michigan sign-stealing scandal opens new gateways to dive deeper as NCAA might vacate past Big Ten national championships: Reports

Michigan might not be the only team affected by the ongoing sign-stealing investigation. Reports are suggesting that sign stealing has been a rampant practice in the conference over the years after a former college football staffer disclosed he was employed to steal signs.

According to reports, the NCAA is planning to take swift disciplinary action at the conference, which may involve the vacation of championships. The governing body may reportedly vacate every national championship won by Big Ten teams in football for the last eight years.

The disciplinary action will go beyond the game of football and may involve other notable sports. Big Ten's men's and women's basketball teams may see their championship victories from the last 20 years vacated. Baseball may face the biggest punishment with vacation of championships from the last 50 years.

Michigan's signs were also stolen by other Big Ten teams

The sign-stealing scandal that Michigan football is currently facing had another twist on Monday. According to Larry Lage of the Associated Press, a former employee at a Big Ten football program has revealed he was allegedly directed to engage in sign-stealing activities.

The employee, whose identity was not revealed, claims he was tasked with creating a spreadsheet documenting the play-calling signals used by Michigan during the 2022 season.

The staffer was said to have given the documents to Michigan last week. The individual also provided screenshots of text message conversations with personnel from multiple Big Ten football teams. It served as evidence that other conference teams were potentially collaborating to pilfer signals from the Michigan Wolverines.

The University of Michigan officials are ready to utilize this evidence if the Big Ten were to make any hasty decisions and issue a penalty without taking into account all the available facts. There’s been an earlier suggestion that the conference might take steps to suspend Jim Harbaugh.

Michigan will challenge any undue punishment

The Michigan athletic department is ready to give a fight if any undue punishment is awarded to the Wolverines football program ahead of the conclusion of the necessary investigations. The university is ready to get involved in a series of legal battles, if required.

The recent reporting by Lage suggests that Michigan has initiated its initial response in an attempt to counter the actions or inquiries from both the Big Ten and the NCAA. The program, however, reiterated its commitment to cooperating with the NCAA and the Big Ten through the course of the investigation.