Does Michigan Cheating Matter?
by Kyle Golik
With the news broke last week about Michigan running its own version of the New England Patriots “Spygate” operations, my reaction was a bit nonchalant.
The fervor that once existed in me would be writing an article that the NCAA, Big Ten, and Michigan need to go scorched earth on Jim Harbaugh, and its football program wasn’t there.
Instead, my reaction was filled with apathy, and I said to myself nothing meaningful would happen.
Why would Michigan, who just spent a better part of two decades not only finding the replacement for Lloyd Carr returning back to national prominence as well as Jim Harbaugh finally realizing expectations, want to harm its football program and destroy what it has spent a lot of time and money restoring?
Why would the Big Ten, who just agreed to billions with CBS, NBC, and FOX, want to harm one of its most valuable brands for that media rights deal?
If anything, the Big Ten and its new commissioner, Tony Petitti, are strategizing for the renewal. The strategy of short-term renewals (short-term in the world of media rights deals) would be significantly impacted if one of their most valuable brands weren’t allowed to be involved in the biggest of games.
The NCAA is a feckless invertebrate when it comes to policing Power 5 programs. If a small school kid receives a meal paid for by someone else, you better believe the NCAA task force would be all over that small program. With it being Michigan, the NCAA is blowing through all its ammunition now with this fanfare of allegations of what happened.
One of the main reasons I carry an apathetic tone about the Michigan “Spygate” is to look at how the NCAA handled the recent situation with the Kansas University men’s basketball program.
Apr 4, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self cuts down the net after defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels during the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament Final Four championship game at Caesars Superdome.
Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
In 2017, a federal investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in regard to rampant bribery and fraud in major collegiate basketball recruiting. This involved representatives at Adidas and Kansas University.
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Kansas was issued its Notice of Allegations from the NCAA in September 2019 based on evidence that former Adidas representatives “provided impermissible benefits to and had impermissible recruiting contacts” with high-profile basketball recruits on behalf of the men’s basketball program and their head coach, Bill Self.
The NCAA’s case against Self and his basketball program centered around phone calls placed to and money paid to former Jayhawks basketball players Billy Preston and Silvio De Sousa during their recruitment.
Now, take a step back. This was a really big deal back in 2019 when this broke. ESPN’s Jay Bilas was amongst many college basketball analysts who were deeply concerned about the state of college basketball. You can’t blame them for that, especially because it happened at one of the sport’s bluest of blue bloods, Kansas.
During this time, Kansas did not miss a beat in its recruiting and even won a national championship along the way.
So, whatever happened with this investigation?
The Independent Accountability Resolution Process downgraded the severity of the violations, including five Level I violations for the men's basketball team, Bill Self, and assistant coach Kurtis Townsend. This also included vacation of wins (15 from 2017-18 season), some postseason tournament wins, Self and members of his staff that were implicated are on probation until 2026, and a $5,000 fine plus 1% of the average men's basketball budget over the last three seasons.
While no one is motivated to see a blue blood like Kansas fall into the abyss, this seems to be a punishment that was negotiated over a period of time where both sides feel they “won.”
When we look at what has allegedly transpired at Michigan, we know nothing will come immediately, and it will be some sort of punishment potpourri where Michigan football isn’t impacted the way it should be and the NCAA gets a pound of flesh so it doesn’t feel it lost either.
The end game is Michigan protects its program, Harbaugh isn’t distracted, the Big Ten protects one of its valuable brands, and the NCAA gets to feel relevant somehow. It's all about protecting the cash cow/golden goose to continue to print money and keep the television networks happy.
That is how it will end, and we will never know the fullest extent to what Michigan, Harbaugh, and Connor Stalions did or didn’t do.
Does Michigan cheating (or spying) matter? It really doesn’t.
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