Connor Stalions Was Obsessed With the University of Michigan Football Team — Did It Ruin His Life?
Connor Stalions may be the ringleader behind a sign-stealing operation that went on for two years.
Published Aug. 27 2024, 2:56 p.m. ET
Ex-Michigan staffer Connor Stalions has been called "the most hated man in college football," per The Detroit News. That is a tough title to carry, especially considering the fact that he had a low-level job working for the Michigan Wolverines football program.
What could a player personnel analyst for the University of Michigan football team possibly have done to incur such wrath? It's complicated. Where is Connor Stalions now and what did he do? Here's what we know.
Where is Connor Stalions now? He's still involved in football.
Stalions's story is featured in Season 4 of Netflix's UNTOLD series, which also covers Steve McNair's murder and Hope Solo's legal battles with the United States Soccer Federation. While his situation lacks some of the drama of the other two stories, it highlights some significant issues within the NCAA.
As of August 2024, Stalions is no longer associated with college football but is working with a high school team. According to the Detroit Free Press, Stalions is the defensive coordinator at Detroit Mumford High School. Head coach William McMichael confirmed this to the outlet, though whether or not this is a paid gig remains a secret.
What did Connor Stalions allegedly do?
According to Stalions's now-deactivated LinkedIn account, he once focused on "using [his] experience to employ Marine Corps philosophies and tactics into the sport of football regarding strategies in staffing, recruiting, scouting, intelligence, planning, and more," reported the New York Post. His military career and love of football went hand-in-hand after he discovered at a young age that "many legendary coaches have connections either to the military or military academies," per People magazine.
Both of his parents went to the University of Michigan which fueled Stalions's dream to someday be the head coach at the prestigious institution. He was obsessed with the Wolverines from a young age. This might have contributed to what he allegedly did while working with them. In 2015 he began volunteering as an assistant coach at Michigan. At the time, he was stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego and spent his own money flying to and from Michigan.
In May 2022, Stalions got one step closer to making his dream a reality when he left the Marines and became an off-field analyst for the University of Michigan football team. Unfortunately, things quickly took a turn when, in October 2023, Yahoo Sports reported that the NCAA was investigating "allegations of sign stealing by the University of Michigan football program," and was specifically looking into Stalions.
Both Stalions and Michigan were accused of "running an 'elaborate' scheme that involved stealing opposing teams’ signals by attending their games, filming their sidelines, and decoding their coaches’ play-calling signs — none of which is permitted by the NCAA," per People Magazine. It was later reported by ESPN that between 2021 and 2023, Stalions purchased tickets to 35 games at 17 stadiums across the United States, then forwarded tickets to at least three people working with him.
The individuals allegedly working with Stalions would film the games, and send that footage to Stalions. This footage was used to decipher signs used by the opposing team in order to figure out what their next play was going to be. While it's not illegal to engage in sign-stealing, the way in which Stalions might have done it certainly is.
For more on this story, stream UNTOLD: Sign Stealer on Netflix.
