MOUNT PLEASANT — The NCAA has determined sportsmanship violations happened within the Central Michigan University football program related to the Connor Stalions investigation.
According to a case summary, a former assistant football coach made arrangements for Stalions, a former U of M football staffer, to be on the CMU sideline for their game against Michigan State University in September of 2023.
The NCAA says Jake Kostner, a former assistant football coach, knew Stalions and came up with a plan for Stalions to be on the sideline to try and ‘identify and decipher play-calling signals.’
Investigators also say Kostner asked Nate Mason, former coordinator of athletic equipment operations, for CMU coaching gear for Stalions to wear and also asked Mike McGee, a former director of recruiting, for official gear and a bench pass for Stalions.
Kostner was also found to have given Stalions an alias prior to kickoff.
The NCAA says Kostner, Mason and McGee did not cooperate initially with enforcement staff and gave ‘false or misleading information during interviews.’
Kostner and McGee would later cooperate the report notes.
The NCAA says ‘Jim McElwain, former football head coach, is responsible for their violations under head coach responsibility legislation.’
The NCAA says the school ‘demonstrated exemplary cooperation throughout the investigation and proactively assisted the enforcement staff.’
The school and NCAA announced Thursday they agreed to the following to resolve the violations, including two years of probation, a $30,000 fine, plus 1% of the budget for the football program.
Former head coach Jim McElwain was also given a two-year show-cause order, along with Nate Mason and Mike McGee.
Jake Kostner was given a four-year show-cause order.
CMU released a statement saying in part: “To resolve these violations, CMU agreed to two years of probation and a fine of $30,000, plus 1% of the football program’s budget. We believe this Negotiated Resolution is in the best interest of the university, which ensures none of our current student-athletes are affected by the actions of former employees. We have also strengthened our internal policies and processes related to sideline access.
We offer our sincere apologies to our neighbors, colleagues and friends at Michigan State University. The actions of our former staff members — both during the inciting incident and the NCAA investigation — were completely contrary to our institutional values. We deeply regret any negative impact this incident may have had on Michigan State.Moving forward, we will continue to focus on our incredible student-athletes and the hard work they are putting into this season. Our student-athletes, coaches and fans deserve our support. We appreciate your patience and understanding."