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Michigan football receives NCAA's official Notice of Allegations for sign-stealing scandal

The NCAA has officially served Michigan football a Notice of Allegations (NOA) relating to the program's sign-stealing scandal allegedly led by ex-staffer Connor Stalions.

A Michigan spokesperson on Sunday confirmed to the Free Press the NCAA had delivered the NOA accusing seven Michigan staffers from the 2023 team of violating NCAA rules.

The university received the NOA about three weeks after the NCAA sent a draft NOA that laid out potential violations and punishments for the Michigan staffers, including first-year head coach Sherrone Moore. The new document could contain updates.

ESPN in early August obtained the draft NOA, which said Moore, who immediately took over after Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL, could face a suspension and show-cause penalty. Moore allegedly deleted 52 text messages with Stalions, a Level II NCAA violation, the same day he was reported to be the ringleader of the sign-stealing operation.

READ MORE: Connor Stalions finally emerged from Detroit Mumford after 6-hour game of cat-and-mouse

Harbaugh, Stalions, former recruiting staffer and star quarterback Denard Robinson, and former linebackers coach Chris Partridge are accused of Level I NCAA violations, while ex-defensive coaches Jesse Minter and Steve Clinkscale were named for recruiting violations unrelated to the Stalions case. The draft NOA said there was no evidence Harbaugh knew about sign stealing, but was accused of once again not cooperating with the NCAA, denying requests to look through his messages and phone records.

NBC Sports reported "most of" the leaked draft notice remains the same, but said Minter and Robinson are working with the NCAA on a negotiated resolution, while the rest are going to the Committee of Infractions. Harbaugh and Moore can be considered repeat offenders because of the NCAA's separate investigation for COVID-era recruiting violations.

TRENDING: Making the case for and against Michigan returning to College Football Playoff

Michigan opens its national title defense Saturday vs. Fresno State (7:30 p.m., NBC) at Michigan Stadium.

Yahoo was first to report on Michigan receiving the NOA.

Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia contributed to this report.

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Jared Ramsey is the sports trending reporter for the Detroit Free Press. Email him: jramsey@freepress.com. Follow him on X at @jared_ramsey22.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football gets NCAA's Notice of Allegations for sign stealing