A former Division III player and coach speaking on the condition of anonymity has come forward to admit he was paid by suspended Michigan Wolverines staff member Connor Stalions to record signals.
The unnamed individual has requested that his name not become public for fear of his privacy, but he was reportedly paid a “couple hundred dollars” plus a ticket to a Michigan home game. He becomes the first person to be linked to the Michigan cheating scandal, aside from Stalions.
He’s said to have attended three Big Ten games during the past two years, recording the sideline of future Michigan opponents. After recording the videos with his cell phone, he then uploaded them to a shared iPhone photo album, but he has no idea who had access.
The unnamed person did say he was somewhat aware of Stalions’ plan, but he was under the assumption that what he was doing was safe to do by NCAA bylaws.
“I didn’t like it, but it’s a gray line,” he said. “You can call me naive, but no one is reading the bylaws. I’m not a contractual lawyer. … I just felt like if you’re not doing it, you’re not trying to get ahead.”
Unnamed individual recording signals for Michigan
The football games he attended were at Rutgers and two games at Penn State (one last year and one this year). He was also provided with another ticket to this Saturday’s Indiana vs Penn State game, but that was before the scandal was made public. He does not plan to attend the upcoming matchup anymore.
As to how he executed his plan to record signals? He said he’d usually sit in the stands, about 15-20 rows above field level. His goal was to record a wide enough angle that included the sideline plus most of the team’s on-field formation so staffers could easily sync his videos with the live action. His recordings were able to include signals from coaches on the sideline.
For the three games he did record, he said he received roughly $1,000, covering his travel expenses and his time. All payments came from a Venmo account tied to Stalions.
“I wasn’t doing it for personal gain or hoping to get my foot in the door if Connor becomes a head coach someday,” he said. “It was just I got to go to some Big Ten games, all right, sweet. And everyone else I felt was doing it to some degree. It’s a billion-dollar industry. You’re going to work in the gray areas as best you can.”
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