This fall saw a lot of controversy about discussions of sign-stealing from the Michigan Wolverines. While observing teams’ signals itself is not banned in college football, this centered on an alleged scheme where analyst Connor Stalions coordinated off-campus scouting that was banned under NCAA rules, with a supposed focus on getting those signs. And that led to a lot of commentary and debate at the time, from both media and figures inside the sport. And that’s now been reignited, with Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith the latest notable figure to weigh in there.
To quickly recap, news of Stalions’ efforts broke in October thanks to an ESPN report from Pete Thamel (who would later receive threats for his reporting) and Mark Schlabach. That led to the program and Stalions parting ways, to the Big Ten suspending head coach Jim Harbaugh for three games (which Michigan initially threatened to fight to the extent of leaving the conference, but ultimately accepted), and to a NCAA investigation into the allegations (which remains ongoing, although the Wolverines resolved a separate recruiting infractions case last month with an agreement for probation, a fine, recruiting restrictions, and individual coach penalties).
The scandal also led to intense media discussion. That included calls to ban the Wolverines from postseason play, debates on sourcing and media bias, individual commentaries on Harbaugh, and more. But the furor died down a little after Harbaugh returned from that suspension.
The Wolverines would go on to win the national title. But a sign-stealing advantage seemed unlikely to play a notable role there, with their College Football Playoff opponents (Alabama and Washington) having months to adjust signs before facing them. There was still some negative Michigan commentary after the title win (and Harbaugh’s subsequent departure for the NFL before any potential NCAA sanctions hit him), but there wasn’t a lot of prominent talk of their title being stripped or asterisked.
However, the athletic director at rival Ohio State, Gene Smith, just provided a call for an asterisk, at least when it came to the Wolverines’ wins over his school. They’ve won the last three annual meetings. And without that 2023 win, Michigan might not have made the playoff, or might have been seeded lower there.
Smith’s comments came in a wide-ranging interview with Anna Staver on central Ohio NPR affiliate WOSU, owned by the school. The interview covered Smith’s since-2005 tenure as the Buckeyes’ AD (he’s retiring effective June 30). But the discussion of the asterisk stands out. Here’s how CBS Sports’ David Cobb wrote that up:
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith pulled no punches when asked by central Ohio’s NPR affiliate whether he believes Michigan’s recent football victories over the Buckeyes should come with an “asterisk” because of the Wolverines’ sign-stealing scandal.
“Of course I do,” Smith said, laughing on the “All Sides with Anna Staver” show.” Smith repeated that “of course I do” before expounding on his view of the scandal, which hung over Michigan’s 2023 national title campaign.
“The rules are in place to protect the integrity of the game and try your best to create a level playing field,” Smith said. “When those rules are violated, then it affects those principles. We have to keep that in perspective.”
Of course, just because any athletic director calls for a literal asterisk in the record books, that doesn’t mean that’s going to happen. And there are further particular grains of salt required when the athletic director of Michigan’s most notable rival is the one who is commenting. Also, Ohio State has faced plenty of football scandals of their own, with that first one starting with a national championship season and allegations from a key player, Maurice Clarett.
Also, any discussion of asterisks and violations in college football (or in any sport, really) is going to get very messy very fast. There have been significant violations found against many schools over the years. And there’s further evidence out there suggesting the schools that get caught are far from alone in what they’ve done, part of the rationale for the Heisman Trust recently returning Reggie Bush’s trophy.
That came up with sign-stealing talk in baseball as well, both long past and recent. And it came up in discussions of Michigan’s alleged scheme here too. “Everyone’s doing it” isn’t necessarily provable, but any significant level of that does hurt the case for asterisks, and rewriting a historical record is always a challenge.
Yes, it should be noted that Smith’s comment here was in response to a specific question rather than unprompted. It also came with a laugh. And it may have been more a thought about following the rules than an actual call to change the record books.
But even with all that said, this was still an unusual comment from a sitting AD. Even if he’s not holding that title for much longer, this was remarkably blunt from Smith. (Although, he has been that way at times.) And it poured some more gasoline on the embers of a currently-smoldering fire around the Michigan saga.
