If you think the Michigan Wolverines’ offseason would be uneventful, think again. Sherrone Moore‘s tenure as the Head Coach in Ann Arbor has been anything but dull. The Wolverines are flying high after a wild 2024 title campaign. But the old sign-stealing scandal that shook the program? Well, that refuses to die. NCAA investigations are still hanging, and the roster is in flux. Safe to say, the post-Harbaugh era is already dealing with turbulence.
Let’s begin with the elephant in the room. HC Moore, who replaced Harbaugh after his departure to the NFL, will serve a two-game suspension this fall. This isn’t some lingering Harbaugh fallout, but an actual consequence of the infamous Connor Stalions sign-stealing fiasco. Moore, the offensive coordinator, masterminded an elaborate scheme to tap and decipher foes’ signals. Moore erased a string of 52 text messages with Stalions that the NCAA discovered during its investigation. The school responded by issuing an internal suspension. As a result, Moore will sit out for the Wolverines’ matchup against Central Michigan and Nebraska in weeks 3 and 4, but he’ll be on the sidelines for the season opener and the showdown against Oklahoma, his hometown school.
In the latest podcast of Josh Pate’s College football show, Pate talks about the aftermath of Sherrone Moore’s suspension. “The NCAA is powerful enough to diminish their value as an asset, and there’s only one way to do that: remove postseason participation, you call it a bowl ban, call it whatever you want to,” Josh says. If the NCAA were to hit Michigan with a postseason ban, it could send shockwaves through the entire sport. Michigan’s athletic director, Warde Manuel, has publicly dismissed any notion regarding the postseason ban. He claimed, NCAA president Charlie Baker flat-out told him Michigan’s national title last season was won “fair and square”. So, pulling postseason eligibility seems way out of left field.
“If they remove Michigan’s ability to compete in postseason play for multiple years, therefore diminishing and diluting their value as an asset that multiple networks have paid billions of dollars for,” says Josh. “In rights fees in exchange for being able to broadcast the games of that’s an entirely different ballgame,” he adds. A multi-year postseason ban for Michigan would be catastrophic, not just for the school but for the business of college football. Why? Because the Wolverines are a massive brand. Networks such as Fox, ESPN, and NBC have shelled out billions for the right to show Big Ten games, and Michigan is the conference’s largest brand. A Michigan-less postseason would crater viewership and leave networks furious.
Now, picture the NCAA removing Michigan from the postseason picture for a few years. Pate states, “I think over their dead body they’re going to let an institution whose authority is sort of bygone in nature anyway like the NCAA come in and say ‘Yeah we know you paid all this money to broadcast Michigan games but we’re going to hand out a punishment that sort of deludes their value as an asset’.”
Suddenly, the networks are losing those high-stakes Michigan most-watched playoff games. Because the deals are already locked, and aim to feature Michigan at its most crucial moments. The loss of these games reduces their worth. This is bigger than just Michigan. It’s about the entire financial ecosystem. So yeah, Moore’s misstep might have rattled a few cages. The NCAA is all set to show the program a lesson, which encompasses Michigan having to play without its head coach. This might disturb the equilibrium for a team that is still working on jelling with its complement of veterans and newcomers.
Urban Meyer drops the hammer on Moore.
Urban Meyer is not the one to shy away from hot takes. Particularly when it concerns Michigan, he bluntly criticized Sherrone Moore’s two-game suspension. Meyer, the former head coach at Ohio State and perennial Michigan nemesis, demanded significantly more severe sanctions than the two-game suspension that Moore will impose. In his opinion, the penalty does not go nearly far enough. He has made it well known that dishonesty with the NCAA must be a career-ender for any college coach. Well, he called for Moore’s job. He views this as a fundamental breach of integrity.
On a recent appearance on the Triple Option Show, Meyer didn’t mince his words. He stated, “If you lie as a college football coach to the NCAA, in my personal opinion, you’re finished, you’re done.” He made a clear distinction between technical infractions and what he considers a core violation of trust. To him, erasing messages and not being willing to comply crosses that line. He even likened Sherrone Moore’s case to previous NCAA behavior, such as the quick and harsh suspension of Dez Bryant for dishonesty regarding his connection with Deion Sanders. Meyer noted that the NCAA previously ruled down hard on players and coaches for dishonesty, and he believes that the same level of expectation should remain today.
Meyer firmly states that the core value of honesty must be protected at all costs. And if a coach crosses that line, there should be no coming back.
The post Panic Strikes Sherrone Moore’s Michigan as More Punishment Confirmed After Urban Meyer’s Blunt Warning appeared first on EssentiallySports.