As the NCAA continues to investigate Michigan’s role in an alleged sign-stealing operation run by former staffer Connor Stalions, no Big Ten coaches or administrators suggest the Wolverines’ national title is tainted or that their victories lack validity. But that doesn’t mean they are not angry, either.

The Athletic reached out to head coaches and assistants from at least five different Big Ten football programs spanning the former East and West Divisions for their thoughts on former Stalions and the team’s advance scouting scandal. In exchange for their candor, the coaches were given anonymity. None of the coaches volunteered to speak on the record, and none were from archrival Ohio State.

“I think their sign-stealing operation was a big deal,” said one assistant coach whose squad was impacted. “It cut at the integrity of the game. I know some people say it wasn’t a big advantage, but it was.

“On game day, as a coordinator, I don’t want to hear from anyone who doesn’t have valuable information pertaining to the game. Connor was talking directly to the coordinators. That tells you what he had to say was important. As far as Harbaugh is concerned, not a single head coach in the country would allow a ‘recruiting’ staff member to be talking to his coordinators on game day. Somehow, Connor was allowed to.”

Stalions’ work was considered pivotal enough to Michigan’s operation that former coach Jim Harbaugh awarded him a game ball following a 27-14 win at Iowa on Oct. 1, 2022. Stalions revealed the decorated ball to cameras in the Netflix documentary “Sign Stealer,” which was released Tuesday.

“The funny thing (Harbaugh) said after I got the game ball is, ‘Don’t get the big head, Connor,’” Stalions recalled in the documentary. “Getting this ball is a pretty cool moment in my life of just being acknowledged as doing a good job at what I do and helping Michigan win. I’ll remember it forever.”

The game ball was long rumored in Iowa City, especially as questions arose about Stalions. The documentary provided validation.

“I just heard about (the game ball footage in the documentary) maybe an hour ago, something like that, and got an email,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday in a news conference. “It’s so far out of mind — it’s history right now. Whatever happens, happens. The appropriate parties will deal with it.”

GO DEEPER

Mandel: Don’t be fooled, Connor Stalions is not a victim in his own sign-stealing scheme

The 2022 game wasn’t the only time the spying scandal allegedly involved Iowa. Roughly four hours before the 2021 Big Ten championship game, a Big Ten coach called an Iowa staffer and issued a warning.

“Michigan has got all of your signals and calls,” the coach told the Iowa staffer. “I wished I’d gotten to you earlier.” That coach confirmed the context of that conversation to The Athletic. By then it was too late for Iowa to change its signals. Michigan dominated in every phase, blowing out the Hawkeyes 42-3 in Indianapolis.

This week, Michigan received a notice of allegations from the NCAA regarding Stalions and the football program’s alleged sign-stealing scheme. Stalions is accused of collecting film of opposing teams’ signals taken by people attending games around the country, which is against NCAA rules. Programs are allowed to review television footage or all-22 video but cannot conduct in-person advance scouting. In photos and game broadcasts, Stalions can be seen standing by the Michigan coordinators interpreting opponents’ signals during games (in-game deciphering of signals is not against NCAA rules).

Connor Stalions, right, was fired by Michigan for his part in a sign-stealing scheme (USA Today).

Neither Ferentz nor any other coaches suggest Stalions’ actions detract from Michigan’s victories. Last December, Michigan shut out Iowa 26-0 to claim its third consecutive Big Ten title, and that took place after Stalions’ resignation and after the Wolverines kept winning through a three-game suspension for Harbaugh imposed by the Big Ten. But throughout the conference, the vibe is clear: Coaches are upset that no controlling agency has held Michigan accountable.

“Based on the public info it’s surprising that there has been nothing adding to their penalty,” a second Big Ten assistant coach said. “I do believe there will be but the NCAA loses credibility when nothing is done or said and everyone is left wondering. Right now, the punishment does not fit the crime — there are more folks involved.”

There is nuance to Stalions’ actions, which a head coach explained. Most programs take television copies and game video and pair it with hand signals from the bench. Everyone wants an edge, he said, but scouting a future opponent in-person crosses the line. But, he added, schools also need to alter their signals more regularly, and teams can scout on the road in the NFL and high school.

Football espionage stories date to the game’s beginnings. According to one legend, former Northwestern assistant coach (and eventual New York Yankees owner) George Steinbrenner left for Purdue in 1956 and hired students in married student housing to watch the Wildcats’ practice. Northwestern coach Ara Parseghian (later of Notre Dame fame) found out and moved his main squad and left the junior varsity to practice in front of Purdue’s spies. Northwestern won 14-0.

Perhaps one day the Stalions story might join others in the somewhat harmless wing of conference lore and tall tales. But for now, there’s bitterness associated with the situation and a belief Michigan will receive preferential treatment.

“By nature, college football coaches don’t waste time on things that don’t have value,” the first assistant coach said. “The amount of time they spent on it tells you all you need to know.”

A different head coach just offered a verbal shrug.

“I guess it doesn’t matter now,” the coach said.

(Top photo: USA Today)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will still appear on the ballot in Michigan and Wisconsin despite suspending his presidential campaign — and could remain on the ballot in other critical battleground states, including Nevada and North Carolina.

The former independent presidential candidate, who suspended his 2024 bid on Friday and endorsed former President Donald Trump, said he would take his name off the ballot in key states where he could hurt the Republican’s results.

However, his request to escape has already backfired in at least two swing states that could decide the election.

In Michigan, it is too late for him to be removed.

“Minor party candidates cannot withdraw, so his name will remain on the ballot in the November election,” Cheri Hardmon, press secretary for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, told Axios on Tuesday.

Kennedy was nominated earlier this year as the candidate of the Natural Law Party.

“The Natural Law Party held their convention to select electors for [RFK Jr.]. They cannot meet at this point to select new electors since it’s past the primary,” Hardmon told the outlet.

Both the Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns have been targeting Michigan hard to herd voters to their side.

The Great Lake State went to President Biden in 2020 by less than three percentage points.

Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), previously told The Post that he is focusing on Michigan to win over Midwestern voters.

Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Elections Commission also voted Tuesday to deny Kennedy’s request to be removed from the ballot.

The Commission based its decision on a Wisconsin law that says anyone who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot cannot decline nomination.

“You’re not going to be able to cut a deal with someone and play last-minute games,” Democratic Commissioner Mark Thomsen said.

“Which is what I think is happening here, frankly… We know Trump and Kennedy are playing games.” 

The Badger State’s Election Commission is a bipartisan board made up of six appointed members — three Democrats and three Republicans. This means no independents or third parties are represented.

The result has come down to approximately 20,000 votes in Wisconsin in four of the previous six presidential elections.

Kennedy is also likely to face challenges removing his name from the ballot in other critical swing states such as Nevada and North Carolina, NPR reported.

However, it is unclear exactly how Kennedy dropping out will impact his supporters and whether they will cast their vote for Trump or Harris — or not vote.

One of the most amazing discoveries about the Great Lakes is that there are so many discoveries to be made.

The latest: sinkholes at the bottom of Lake Michigan.

On Aug. 21, a team of scientists confirmed there are more than 40 sinkholes on the lakebed in the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary.

This isn’t the first time sinkholes have been found in the Great Lakes. In 2001, scientists found sinkholes at the bottom of Lake Huron in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. 

Lake Huron’s sinkholes have attracted the attention of scientists ever since, especially once they found dancing bacteria in them. 

You read that right. It’s kind of like a tango.

So, how did scientists find the Lake Michigan sinkholes? How big are they? And do they know what’s hiding in them?

We answer 10 questions. 

More: We know more about the surface of Mars than about the floor of Lake Michigan. But what we do know is remarkable.

When were Lake Michigan’s sinkholes discovered?

In 2022, researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were out surveying the lakebed in the Wisconsin’s marine sanctuary when circular depressions showed up on sonar scans. 

The depressions stretched for miles, piquing everyone’s curiosity, said Russ Green, superintendent with the marine sanctuary. A shipwreck hunter who was out looking for a wreck also noted them at about the same time, Green said. 

The first time scientists were able to take a closer look was on Aug. 21. Using a remotely operated vehicle, they confirmed they are in fact sinkholes. 

They were “perfect, little circles,” said Steve Ruberg, a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. 

More: Wisconsin’s national marine sanctuary is a museum beneath the water. Here’s what to know.

Where are the sinkholes?

The sinkholes are about 14 miles southeast of Sheboygan, roughly 450 feet below the surface. They extend south in a line towards Port Washington. 

How big are they?

The sinkholes range in size from 300 to 600 feet across. 

The scientists found roughly 40, although Ruberg said there are likely more. 

How do sinkholes in the Great Lakes form?

Whether it’s on land or on the lake bottom, sinkholes form when water dissolves rock, causing the surface layer to collapse and form a hole. 

Lake Michigan sits on a layer of limestone bedrock. Over time, groundwater flowing under the lake erodes the bedrock, forming caverns, Ruberg said. Eventually, parts of the ceilings collapsed, forming sinkholes. 

Does anything live in the sinkholes?

Not many organisms can withstand the cold, dark and oxygen-deprived conditions.

However, the temperature holds at a fairly constant 38 degrees Fahrenheit at the bottom, Ruberg said, and there are a few critters that “doing their thing in the dark down there.” There are freshwater shrimp, known as opossum shrimp as well as deepwater sculpin, which is a small fish. And of course, invasive quagga mussels survive. 

Scientists expect there are also bacteria that can handle extreme environments, but they have yet to explore what kinds.

Can the sinkholes cause problems in the lake?

It’s not yet clear how the sinkholes contribute to the lake’s ecosystem, chemistry and water levels. 

In Lake Huron, the groundwater that flows through the sinkholes have high levels of salt and sulfur, Ruberg said. 

It’s possible that the groundwater seeping in through the sinkholes will contribute to lake levels in a “very small way, but it’s part of the whole equation we use to see where the lake levels are potentially going to go,” Ruberg said. 

So far, the scientists haven’t found groundwater coming out of the sinkholes that they were able to explore, but they will likely find some when they get out deeper, Ruberg said.

There are dancing bacteria in Lake Huron’s sinkholes?

There sure are. But scientifically, it’s referred to as microbial migration.

At the bottom of Lake Huron’s Middle Island sinkhole, there are mats of purple-colored cyanobacteria that produce oxygen from sunlight. There are also white-colored bacteria that eat sulfur to get energy. The bacteria are a kind of carpet on the lake floor.

Scientists discovered that the bacteria flip-flop twice a day to compete with each other. In the early evening hours, the purple bacteria rise, blocking the white bacteria’s access to sunlight. When the sun comes out, they switch positions; the white sulfur-eaters move below and the purple cyanobacteria can start producing oxygen again. 

The two bacteria do that “tango” every day, completely changing the color of the mat, said Greg Dick, a professor at the University of Michigan and director of the Cooperative Institute of Great Lakes Research.

It’s not uncommon to see animals migrate on a daily basis, Dick said, but it’s not often seen with microbes.

When it comes to the sinkholes in Lake Michigan, scientists have just begun to explore them. So it’s unclear whether bacteria do a daily dance − or other unheard of things.

What will scientists explore next?

Ruberg believes the sinkholes in Lake Michigan are probably similar to the ones in Lake Huron, but scientists won’t know for sure until they investigate further — one of their many next steps. Another avenue of exploration will be to see how much salt and sulfur is seeping into Lake Michigan, he said. 

But Ruberg said there is a chance they will find something that’s never been seen in the Great Lakes before. 

What can we learn from Great Lakes sinkholes?

The sinkholes are valuable natural laboratories. 

“It’s an extreme environment,” Dick said. “We typically have to go to Antarctica or Yellowstone National Park or some exotic location to get these extreme ecosystems, but this is in our backyard in the Great Lakes.”

The dark, low-oxygen and sulfur-rich conditions in the deep sinkholes are similar to early conditions on Earth, Dick said. They can help scientists learn more about Earth’s early history before there was oxygen. 

More: Want to explore a Lake Michigan shipwreck? Wisconsin’s marine sanctuary just made it easier.

Haven’t the bottom of the Great Lakes been explored?

Not really. 

In fact, only 15% of the bottom of the Great Lakes has been mapped in high resolution. Scientists have said they know more about the surface of Mars than they do about the bottom of the largest fresh surface water system on earth.

But that may soon change. 

The Lakebed 2030 Initiative by the Great Lakes Observing System, or GLOS, is an effort by scientists, agencies and other organizations to map and fully explore the lake bottoms. 

And two Michigan representatives proposed a bipartisan bill earlier this year that would authorize $200 million to map the bottoms of all five lakes. The lakes could be mapped within eight years with proper funding, according to a 2021 report by the observing system. 

Until then, there will likely be many more discoveries. 

More: Lake Michigan shipwreck hunters discover historic schooner unseen for 131 years

Caitlin Looby is a Report for America corps member who writes about the environment and the Great Lakes. Reach her at clooby@gannett.com or follow her on X @caitlooby.

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