Report: Ohio State contacted NCAA about in-person scouting of 2022 CFP semifinal
As an investigation continues looking into in-person scouting and alleged sign stealing by Michigan, it was reported Saturday that Ohio State contacted the NCAA about whether or not teams could scout 2022 College Football Playoff semifinal games in person to scout future opponents.
During the postseason, the NCAA allows teams to scout opponents at single-site events such as the NCAA basketball tournaments and baseball regionals. But with the College Football Playoff not being an NCAA-operated event, CFP officials, per Yahoo Sports, did not have its own rule and instead followed the NCAA policy that allowed scouting in postseason tournaments.
Last December, Ohio State made a peculiar inquiry to the NCAA/CFP: Is it permissible to send staff to scout the other semifinal?
Answer: Yes.
The inquiry triggered a CFP bylaw change & now feels strangely relevant given the NCAA’s probe into Michigan.https://t.co/675gP03ckR— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 28, 2023
After the semifinals, the CFP governing board made in-person scouting of playoff games impermissible.
Per Yahoo Sports, the CFP notified each of the four teams participating in the 2022 tournament — Georgia, Ohio State, TCU and Michigan — of OSU's inquiry. Officials at Georgia and TCU told Yahoo Sports "they are unaware of having sent a staff member to scout the other semifinal.
Michigan did not respond to a request for comment, while Ohio State declined comment, per the report.
According to Yahoo, a Fiesta Bowl spokesperson said there was no ticket request made to the bowl from Ohio State for TCU vs. Michigan.
Both the Big Ten and NCAA are investigating whether Michigan scouted future opponents during the regular season in person, a practice that has been banned since 1994, and whether the Wolverines used electronic equipment to record "any signals given by an opposing player, coach or other team personnel," which is prohibited by the NCAA rule book.
According to The Washington Post, Michigan has been using a "sign-stealing operation" involving in-person scouting and video recording coaches since "at least last season."
An outside investigative firm approached the NCAA with documents and videos from computers accessed by multiple Michigan coaches the report states, including the Wolverines' "planned sign-stealing travel for the rest of the season, listing opponents' schedules, which games Michigan scouts would attend and how much money was budgeted for travel and tickets."
And, according to the report, Ohio State was the team that had Michigan's attention most with plans to attend "as many as eight games, costing more than $3,000 in travel and tickets.
Connor Stalions, a Michigan football analytics assistant, was suspended with pay from the program as a person of interest in the NCAA and Big Ten investigation.
Stalions, per reports, bought tickets to college football games at 13 Big Ten schools — including multiple Ohio State games — and the 2021 and 2022 SEC title games.
Ohio State will take on Michigan in Ann Arbor at noon Nov. 25.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State contacted NCAA about in-person scouting of College Football Playoff
