Central Michigan has received its punishment for hosting ex-Michigan staffer Connor Stalions in disguise on the sidelines during a 2023 game against Michigan State, the NCAA announced Thursday morning in a 19-page ruling.
The punishment includes two years of probation and a small fine for the Chippewas, as well as four show-cause penalties for members of their staff that year. The punishments bring to an end the strangest portion of one of college football's wildest on-field scandals.
Then-Central Michigan coach Jim McElwain, now a special assistant to the university's athletic director, was hit with a two-year show-cause penalty. The NCAA levied similar penalties toward then-coordinator of athletic equipment operations Nate Mason and then-director of recruiting Mike McGee, while former assistant coach Jake Kostner—singled out in the NCAA's ruling as "(formulating) a plan for Stalions to be present on Central Michigan's sideline"—received a four-year show-cause penalty.
Kostner, Mason and McGee were also singled out for failing to cooperate with the NCAA's investigation, though it was noted that Kostner and McGee eventually came around to providing information.
The Chippewas lost that game to the Spartans 31–7.
The Wolverines, who received their punishment in August, went on to win the national championship in 2023.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NCAA Punishes Central Michigan for Hosting Disguised Connor Stalions on Sideline.
