LAUREN CEBALLOS/ SPORTS EDITOR

During the heat and the energy of a packed football stadium, coaches and players use hand signals to imitate what would be drawn in a playbook during real time, formatting and signaling which play the players are supposed to enact during that point in the game. While it could be written on an actual sign or a playbook, most “signs” or signals for plays are hand gestures or movements.

The act of “sign stealing” is memorizing and studying the signs and their associations of another team’s plays in order to know what play they are planning on running based off of the ‘sign’ that is called. This takes away the advantage a team would have of running their plays. Some coaches have a system of two people giving signals right next to each other, and they tell their players which of the two is giving the “real” hand signals, determining the plays in secret. This practice allows for the players to know which play they are supposed to perform, while the opposing team has a harder time deciphering the signal. The Michigan Wolverines were under NCAA investigation for finding a way around just that.

The University of Michigan was accused of “sign stealing” on Oct. 19. Former USD football coach, Jim Harbaugh, is currently the head coach of Michigan and had to bear the consequences of Connor Stalions’ actions of alleged sign-stealing.

“[The] Michigan [football program]… received evidence related to the sign-stealing scandal from the Big Ten, as well as a formal notice of potential disciplinary action against the program,” according to CBS Sports.

Former USD football coach and current Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh is not known to be directly involved in the situation, as confirmed by the Big Ten, but Harbaugh endured a three-game coaching suspension in order to put an end to the investigation.

Stadium surveillance caught Connor Stalions a lower level member of the Michigan football staff “sign-stealing.”

CBS Sports explained the consequences of the situation in an article on Nov. 18.

“Michigan [Football] and Coach Jim Harbaugh have accepted the Big Ten’s three-game suspension for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy. In return, the Big Ten has agreed to cease its investigation into allegations of illegal sign stealing through the use of advanced scouting and technology, even as the NCAA continues its own investigation.”

Harbaugh therefore missed three games against Penn State on Nov. 11, Maryland on Nov. 18 and Nov. 25 against Ohio State but could still go to practices and football activities, when it was not game day.

 “The NCAA’s investigation centers around former staffer Connor Stalions, who allegedly bought tickets for more than 30 games — many of them within the Big Ten — and used ‘illegal technology’ to steal signs. Stalions resigned from Michigan’s staff on Nov. 3, after previously being suspended with pay pending the outcome of the NCAA’s investigation. Harbaugh… denied knowledge of the operation,” CBS Sports reported on Nov. 18. 

“According to a Yahoo Sports report, Michigan is being accused of sending people to games of teams they are scheduled to play, to gather information on signs used to call plays on offense and defense,” Chantz Martin reported for Fox News on Nov. 2. 

Harbaugh denied his involvement in the scandal in an article published by ESPN on Oct. 19. 

“I do not have any knowledge or information regarding the University of Michigan football program illegally stealing signals, nor have I directed any staff member or others to participate in an off-campus scouting assignment,” Harbaugh stated, according to ESPN. 

Lou Holtz, who has 34 years of head coaching experience and additional assistant coaching jobs, most notable for his time at Notre Dame, appeared on a sports coverage podcast “Hot Mic with Hutton and Withrow,” before Harbaugh was punished by the Big Ten. Holtz talked about the investigation into Michigan’s supposed actions, which he called “deplorable.” 

“There’s a video on different channels, where it would show the Michigan players looking at the Ohio State bench, and then they all turn, once they get the signals. So I just think it’s deplorable, and I think it’s bad. I think they should definitely get to the bottom of it, before they decide who’s going to play for the national championship,” Holtz said, as reported by Fox when highlighting the “Hot Mic with Hutton and Withrow” podcast episode.

Harbaugh’s first head coaching job was here at the University of San Diego in 2004, where he led the Toreros to the Pioneer League Championship in 2005 and 2006. On Dec. 20, 2003, it was announced that Harbaugh would take over the head coaching position at USD.

Harbaugh directly came from his second year as assistant coach to the Nation Football League’s Oakland Raiders. After finishing the season with the Raiders, he joined USD athletics to coach quarterbacks from 2004-2006, before leaving to coach at Stanford.

In Feb. 2013, Harbaugh coached the 49ers to the Super Bowl, coaching against his brother, John Harbaugh, the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, the first time that brothers have ever coached against each other in the Super Bowl.

Harbaugh started coaching at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, in 2015. Harbaugh has a record of 15 seasons as an NFL quarterback, being the first draft pick for the Chicago Bears in 1987, being an NFL MVP runner up and many more acknowledgements as a player in addition to his coaching history.

The Big Ten attempted to amend the sign-stealing debacle by suspending Harbaugh, USD’s former coach, from coaching Michigan’s games against Penn State, Maryland and Ohio State in return for dropping the case. Despite the lack of evidence for Harbaugh’s involvement in the scandal, Harbaugh accepted the punishment, ending the Big Ten investigation.