David Pollack reacts to Michigan sign-stealing punishments: ‘The NCAA doesn’t do much’

Friday morning, the NCAA made its long-awaited announcement with punishments for Michigan related to its sign-stealing scandal. Multiple coaches and staffers – including Jim Harbaugh and Connor Stalions – received show-cause orders, and the school got hit with fines.

The report notably didn’t include a postseason ban, which the NCAA acknowledged. David Pollack reacted to the punishments and took aim at the NCAA in the process.

Pollack acknowledged how rampant sign-stealing is in college football, based on conversations he has with people around the sport, but also questioned the role of the NCAA in the investigations. That’s why he said the organization “doesn’t do much.”

“First of all, sign stealing goes on at an elite level every year,” Pollack told Jim Rome. “I talk to coaches every year and they’re like, ‘Man, they had our signs.’ Like, every single year, you’ll talk to them. Different game after game that we could go through, and like, ‘They had our signs. They hired a guy that used to be here that knew our signs and did this.’ So that kind of stuff happens.

“But Jim, let’s not pretend. The NCAA doesn’t do much. Like, what the heck do they do? They they do a great job at the end of the year, they hand out the trophy. They throw a party, throw a national championship, but that’s about it, man. … It’s a ban, it’s a fine. Nobody cares about the fine. There’s plenty of money to pay it.”

Pollack also recalled a situation with one of his friends who received a letter from the NCAA after helping one of his children’s teammates get home for the holidays. The former ESPN analyst told him not to respond to it, citing the lack of subpoena power.

“I had a buddy, actually, that his daughter was … a competitive athlete,” Pollack said. “And he called me, he was like, ‘Hey, we helped another athlete get home to their family because they couldn’t get home from the holidays and we got something from the NCAA.’ I go, ‘Don’t say anything.’ ‘What do you mean?’ I was like, ‘If you admit it, then you’re going to be in trouble and your your athlete will be in trouble. If you don’t say a word, they have no subpoena power. They can’t do anything. They literally can’t do a thing. So just don’t say anything. Say, I’m good. I don’t want to talk.’

“The NCAA and and its purpose and its role, it hasn’t been managed well. It hasn’t been done well. These are all things that you can find at different schools and different cheating. It’s a part of it.”

The NCAA placed Michigan on four years of probation and added an additional game suspension for coach Sherrone Moore in 2026. He is already serving a self-imposed two-game suspension this year. In addition to Stalions and Harbaugh’s eight- and 10-game show causes, respectively, Denard Robinson also received a three-year show-cause order. Moore also has a two-year show cause. Michigan later announced it plans to appeal the ruling.