University of Michigan pledges cooperation with NCAA over probe into sign-stealing allegations

The University of Michigan on Thursday pledged to cooperate in a bombshell probe into its football team and allegations of sign stealing operation that could've funneled key, real-time opponents information to the Wolverines.

The Big Ten, the conference that includes Michigan and some of the college football's most prominent programs, revealed that the Wolverines were under NCAA investigation and said "integrity of competition to be of utmost importance and will continue."

"Late Wednesday afternoon, the Big Ten Conference and University of Michigan were notified by the NCAA that the NCAA was investigating allegations of sign stealing by the University of Michigan football program," according to a conference statement.

"The Big Ten Conference has notified Michigan State University and future opponents. The Big Ten Conference considers the integrity of competition to be of utmost importance and will continue to monitor the investigation. The Conference will have no further comment at this time."

Harbaugh denied having any knowledge of sign stealing as both he and the school said they'll fully cooperate with investigators.

How do teams signal in plays to their players?

For as technologically sophisticated as high-level football has become, sending in plays from the sideline is still remarkably low-tech — and occasionally funny — act.

A common method for the quarterback and offense to get direction is from hand gestures flashed by the backup signal callers.

That’s usually done in tandem, presumably with one backup QB communicating the actual play and the other working as decoy.

It's also a common tactic of coaches to use large cardboard signs with seemingly nonsensical images — such as symbols, cartoons or even pictures of celebrities — that actually communicate a complex action to one side's 11 players.

The NFL uses specially outfitted helmets that allow for one-way communication between coaches and the quarterback and one defender.

That technology is not sanctioned NCAA football. But the body has allowed limited use of, and is developing technology for, helmet communications for hearing impaired athletes.

What are the Wolverines accused of doing?

Statements from the Big Ten, school and Harbaugh did not specify how signs could have been stolen and what rules might have been broken.

Coaching staffs spend untold hours each week breaking down game film of opponents, trying to find any potential weaknesses to exploit or strengths to specially defend.

But this footage cannot include videotape of an opponent's sideline for potential sign stealing.

"Any attempt to record, either through audio or video means, any signals given by an opposing player, coach or other team personnel is prohibited," according to the 2023 NCAA football rule book.

Yahoo Sports reported that the NCAA is investigating whether the Wolverines program sent reps to the games of future opponents to possibly gain information on their signaling protocol.

Why is this information important?

There is arguably no more complex team sport in North America than football — where the success of plays can hinge on the action of any one of 22 players on the field.

The positioning of a player and knowing his pre-snap intent could be valuable information to the other side.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might be been the beneficiary of not sign stealing, but signal giveaways when they beat the Oakland Raiders in the 2003 Super Bowl.

The Bucs were coached by Jon Gruden, who had been Raiders boss the previous season.

But when Tampa Bay and Oakland met in the title game of the 2002-03 campaign, the Raiders did little to change the language used in their play calls — vocabulary established in Oakland by Gruden — giving the Buccaneers valuable pre-snap knowledge.

Tampa Bay won that game in San Diego on Jan. 26, 2009, 48-21.

Have other teams in other sports stolen signs? Is this a big deal?

Yes and yes.

The most recent and infamous case of sports signs stealing came in 2017 when the Houston Astros were found to have, after the fact, used TV cameras to learn opponents pitch selections.

Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were both fired in the aftermath of one the sport's greatest on-field scandals since the 1919 Chicago White Sox threw the World Series.

The New England Patriots were found to have videotaped opponent sidelines in a scandal subbed “Spygate.”

It led to a massive $500,000 fine of coach Bill Belichick, a $250,000 penalty against the Patriots and the loss the team’s 2008 first-round draft pick.

And then there’s the 1951 New York Giants, who used a military field scope to steal a catcher’s signs and a buzzer system to relay opponent pitch calls to the batter.

The Giants staged a miraculous comeback against the Brooklyn Dodgers and won the National League flag on Oct. 3, 1951, when Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” sent radio man Russ Hodges into his iconic “The Giants win the pennant!” frenzy on WMCA.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com