What punishment will Michigan receive from sign-stealing scandal? | College Football Enquirer

Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel and Ross Dellenger, and Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde hop on the College Football Enquirer to discuss the NCAA’s investigation into Michigan for allegedly engaging in a sign-stealing scheme, and debate what punishment could be heading toward the Wolverines as a result of the investigation.

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Video Transcript

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DAN WETZEL: One thing about the NCAA and penalties, everyone's all fired up. OK, what are the penalties going to be? The penalty is if Jim Harbaugh goes coach the Bears. That's the penalty. But they can get another guy.

NCAA penalties are pointless now other than post-season ban. And even then, I can't imagine a multi-year postseason ban here. The penalties they do, the NCAA is so behind the times. First of all, the things they really care about is kids getting money. That's all they've ever really cared about. So they don't really have a lot set up for this stuff.

And even-- what are you going to do? Scholarship reduction? How much does that matter?

ROSS DELLENGER: Recruiting. Bans.

DAN WETZEL: Yeah, but it's--

ROSS DELLENGER: All that crap.

DAN WETZEL: Recruiting is NIL now. It's not about how many official visits you make. Oh, you can't make an official-- you only get instead of how many they [? permiss, ?] 50 official visits, you only get 30. OK, well, the kid will show up here and our booster will have a--

ROSS DELLENGER: A fine.

DAN WETZEL: --an autograph session. And make more money. And they'll pay for their trip up here. The recruiting visits and all their recruiting sanctions are pointless. It's not like crushing like it used to be. They'll still be fine because they can work around it with NIL. The fine, I don't know what Michigan's got, they're lacking money.

ROSS DELLENGER: Yeah.

DAN WETZEL: What are they going to fine them, like $18 billion? So the penalty is if Harbaugh leaves. But everyone's going to want the Michigan job. So it's kind of part of the NCAA's problem is I don't know how they-- what do you even do that's a viable punishment anymore? Sounds bad, but you could cut some scholarships. They don't like doing postseason bans on teams and players that are no longer impacted anymore, right?

ROSS DELLENGER: Well and then scholarship cutting, does that matter anymore because of NIL?

DAN WETZEL: No.

ROSS DELLENGER: I mean--

DAN WETZEL: No.

ROSS DELLENGER: It doesn't.

PAT FORDE: Yeah.

DAN WETZEL: Michigan has the resources to have people just walk on the team if you need an extra.

ROSS DELLENGER: Cut roster spots, maybe. But scholarship cutting, that--

DAN WETZEL: You can't cut roster, because you need the health of players.

ROSS DELLENGER: Yeah.

PAT FORDE: The one thing Michigan could drag this case out for a long ass time if they wanted. If this goes through the NCAA infractions process. But theoretically, if they've got evidence in hand now and they come up with a notice of allegations this month and you go into an infractions process, you could have a ruling next summer. And it would be hard to say, well, this next group of kids, they're years removed from this. No, they're not.

DAN WETZEL: True.

PAT FORDE: You know?

DAN WETZEL: But maybe a one year ban.

PAT FORDE: Yeah. Right, no, I don't think--

DAN WETZEL: I'm not saying Michigan shouldn't get anything. They should. If this is all-- I mean, but there's like a perception the NCAA still has power to punish. Like what's the punishment?

NIL has changed the game. They're going off of old sanctions. We're going to punish your recruiting. Well, that's the old way of doing things. You can't punish our recruiting, we're Michigan. We got so much money, these kids are going to show up anyway.