CFB insider points out one of the biggest unanswered questions in Connor Stalions scandal after Jim Harbaugh's suspension

The role Connor Stalions (and possibly Jim Harbaugh) played in the Michigan Wolverines sign-stealing scandal, which came to light last year, continues to rock the college football world. Stalions was the centerpiece of an illegal operation that allegedly involved buying tickets to games of Michigan's opponents and using his time there to gain insight into their play-calling signals.

Now that Harbaugh is back in the public eye after a one-year suspension from college athletics for a 2021 recruitment violation, there's still one unanswered question about his possible involvement in the sign-stealing scandal. College football insider Pete Thamel raised this question on the latest "College GameDay" podcast:

“The thing that’s missing from here, that I think is really interesting, is who funded this? Like there’s mileage, there’s tickets, there’s — you buy tickets to 53 college football games. This was not something. I think Connor Stalions made 50 grand, if I remember right, looking it up last year from the public Michigan website. So that’s not — the capability to do that wasn’t there.”

If the insider is right, Stalions' salary alone wouldn't cover the costs of attending all those games, including travel, accommodation and tickets. While many might think Jim Harbaugh helped, Thamel said on the podcast that the former Michigan coach might not be involved according to the ongoing investigation, but someone else could be:

“So I think that is part of the interesting thing and I think obviously important to point out, there’s no direct link to Jim Harbaugh, There’s one football staff member mentioned here, they don’t mention that person by name. I would insinuate that was not an on-field, full-time coaching staff member.”

Jim Harbaugh suspension: The other scandal affecting the former Michigan coach

Away from the Connor Stalions incident, former Michigan Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh received a four-year show-cause order on Wednesday and has been given a one-year suspension. This is related to recruitment violations that occurred during the COVID-19 dead period in 2021. Regarding this, the NCAA's Committee on Infractions released a statement that read:

"Violated recruiting and inducement rules, engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations."

In addition to this other scandal that is affecting the LA Chargers coach, Harbaugh has been banned for one year from "all athletically related events" in the collegiate sphere. This ban is a mere formality and will only take effect if he returns to college football, which might not happen for a few years.