In September of 2023, Michigan State kicked off its season against Central Michigan at Spartan Stadium in its annual Friday night kickoff over Labor Day Weekend.
It was a typical Big Ten vs. MAC contest that ended in a blowout win for Michigan State, but not before some interesting news broke about there being an illegal staffer on the sidelines for the Chippewas. Michigan staffer Connor Stalions was pictured on the sidelines with sunglasses used for video taping and a full-on disguise.
There was serious debate about whether it was truly him or not, but as more came out about Stalions and the fact that Central Michigan's "internal investigation" was quiet pretty, it was pretty obvious that the Michigan staffer was on the Chippewas' sideline helping decipher signs.
Head coach Jim McElwain claimed he had no idea who that was even though Stalions was seen speaking to other assistants between plays.
Stalions later admitted to being on the sidelines for that game.
On Thursday, the NCAA levied a punishment on Central Michigan for its involvement with Stalions that can only truly be considered unserious.
Two years probation for CMU and a 1% reduction in the football budget, along with show cause penalties four staffers, including four years for Jake Kostner, who was at the heart of it. https://t.co/BcbE4tDoBN
— Graham Couch (@Graham_Couch) October 30, 2025
The coaches involved were handed show-cause penalties, including McElwain, which really isn't that harsh of a punishment, along with one percent of the football budget being reduced. This is basically a non-penalty disguised as a harsh one. It's about as light as the NCAA could go.
In the future, if a cheating scandal like this happens again, there's precedent there that says punishments are to be light even if you don't follow the rules.
The NCAA, unfortunately, swings and misses yet again.