Source — Michigan fires football analyst Connor Stalions

Michigan has fired Connor Stalions, the analyst at the center of the NCAA’s investigation into illegal off-campus scouting and signal stealing, a source confirmed to ESPN.

Stalions, who officially joined Michigan’s staff in 2022 but had been around the program for several years, was suspended with pay by the school on Oct. 20, pending the outcome of the investigation.

According to a source, Stalions did not attend a meeting Friday with Michigan officials, possibly on advice of counsel. Sources are unsure whether he will cooperate with the NCAA investigation, which is examining whether Stalions and Michigan orchestrated in-person scouting of Michigan’s future opponents, violating a rule established in 1994.

Yahoo! Sports first reported Michigan’s firing of Stalions.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a longtime Michigan fan, Stalions earned a salary of $55,000 and spent games on the Michigan sideline, often consulting with defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and other coaches. According to a LinkedIn page he recently deleted, Stalions is a former officer in the Marine Corps worked with Michigan as a volunteer for several years before joining the staff in 2022.

According to ESPN sources, Stalions purchased tickets to more than 35 games at 17 stadiums around the country, involving Michigan opponents in the Big Ten and potential College Football Playoff opponents. A former Division III player and coach told ESPN’s Dan Murphy that Stalions had paid him several hundred dollars to attend three Big Ten games involving future Michigan opponents and record their sidelines on his smartphone.

ESPN first reported Stalions’ involvement in the NCAA probe, and sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Mark Schlabach that the NCAA enforcement staff sought access to Stalions’ computer as part of its investigation.

Central Michigan said Tuesday it is investigating a man who resembled Stalions who appeared in its bench area for the Sept. 1 opener at Michigan State, after learning of images of the man late Monday. The man wore team-issued gear and sunglasses for a night game, and wore one of the 50 bench passes given to non-players for games. Central Michigan coach Jim McElwain said following Tuesday’s game against Northern Illinois that school officials are “aware of a picture floating around with the sign-stealer guy,” and “doing everything they can to get to the bottom of it.” CMU had not concluded its investigation as of Friday, an official told ESPN.

Anil Jain, a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Michigan State and a nationally recognized facial recognition expert, believes it’s “highly likely” that the images of the man wearing sunglasses and a hat on the Central…