Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - EXPOSED: NCAA's SHOCKING Decision on Michigan Scandal | Is This a GAME-CHANGER for Future Investigations?

Episode Date: August 15, 2025

NCAA slams Michigan with hefty fines, but no championship loss. Is this a new era of NCAA enforcement or just favoritism?Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs dissect the NCAA's penalties against the Michigan Wolverines football program, exploring the implications for college football's competitive landscape. They analyze Florida State's recruiting coup, landing top 2026 linebacker Izayiah Williams, and discuss his unusual commitment history. The hosts also examine potential roadblocks to creating a college football red zone channel, highlighting Fox Sports' pivotal role in broadcast rights negotiations.Tune in for expert insights on NCAA penalties, high-stakes recruiting, and the future of college football broadcasting.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!WayfairGet organized, refreshed, and back to routine for way less. Head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home.GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE at www.monarchmoney.com/lockedoncollege for 50% off your first year.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So the NCAA finally just brought the alleged hammer down on Michigan. It's a very expensive slap on the wrist, but they don't have to give up a championship and they don't have a postseason ban. So kids, cheaters do prosper. You are locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Happy Friday and shout out to the everydayers. Thank you so much for making Lockdown ACC, your first listen and your first watch.

We're available free wherever you get your podcast. We're part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. He is Kenton Gibbs, former NC State defensive linemen and co-host of Lockdown Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono from Lockdown Keynes. And today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner. Visit FanDul's app today and start planning your futures bets right now on this loaded episode.

If you were hoping, because they promised this to us, if you're hoping for a college football red zone channel, not so fast, my friends, we'll tell you who may block this deal from going through. Florida State has flipped a big time recruit. It's a really good player, but still four months left until National Signing Day. And this young man has flipped already more times than we can count. But Kent, let's start with Michigan. And I know this isn't directly an ACC story, but there are ACC angles we can take from this.

So the NCAA has finally levied their punishment to Michigan for the Connor Stallion's sign stealing scandal from a couple of years ago. According to ESPN, series of fines could eclipse $30 million. But Michigan avoided punitive penalties such as a post-Sprose. season ban or the vacating of victories, including during the 2023 national championship season, as the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions ruled on the Wolverines' advanced scouting case on Friday. Now, a lot of folks, I mean, if Michigan's fans, you probably will find this episode, say, well, first of all, you guys don't know, you're talking out your, you know what's.

This was a witch hunt. This wasn't as serious as you thought, let me give you a fact, according to Brandon Marcello of CBS sports. the NCAA. They said they had sufficient grounds to levy a multi-year postseason ban. It says, however, the panel determined that a postseason ban would unfairly penalize student athletes for the actions of coaches and staff who were no longer associated with the Michigan football program. So the NCAA doesn't think it was a witch hunt, but they decided unfair to the players who were there now to punish them for a couple years ago. And I can get on.

on board with that, Kenton. The problem is that's not how the NCAA used to operate. See, and I'm glad that you said that because this is not about, you know, what's fair and what's not. Because in terms of what's fair and what's not, you're absolutely right, Donald. There have been, it's never right to punish a university

or a team if everybody who did is gone. It would be different if Harbar was still there. If counterstatings were still on the staff and all that, it would be very different. However, they're gone. They're gone. So I appreciate the fairness in saying, hey, we're not going to punish these players who had nothing to do with that because with all the respect, these players don't. The players that are there now, they weren't a part of or beneficiaries of signed still.

So with that in mind, I then go to what you just alluded to. The NCAA has not always operated that way. Since when does the NCAA care about punishing the right group of people instead of wait a minute. Helmet looks the same. Yeah, it's steal them. Get them. Get them, boys. Like, that's how I knew it for decades, for however long. And there were things that didn't have anything to do with on the field performance. And I mean stuff, there were things, obviously, for players getting paid or for players

receiving improper benefits. Yes, the reduction of stress from having to worry about where your next meal is coming from or those types of things, that absolutely gives you a benefit over an opponent who does, who is worrying, oh man, I got to go in to work this little job in the student center, whatever the case may be,

to make some money to eat. That is an advantage. But I'm talking about stuff that was purely off the field, stuff that did not involve any single player on the team, and I've seen the hammer come down worse than this. So, you know, you ask, do cheaters win? Well, I don't know, Dono. Is there an asterisk next to the SpyGate ring?

is there an asteris next to the plate gate ring? As a Dolphins guy, you saw it up close and person and everybody talked about for years how, hey, whenever you go play in Foxborough, you know that your communication systems aren't going to work. So y'all have to practice on relaying

the calls in getting people to run to the sideline. And does anybody say, hmm, that Bill Belichick guy was good, but all of these strange occurrences used to happen whenever you went to Foxborough so it doesn't come no people say hey he's got more rings than

everybody else that's just what it is nobody ever cares if you cheated or not the Denver broncos during their Super Bowl runs with John Elway and Terrell davenson company had multiple moments where they had in fractions that they were penalized for and then the NCAA how many teams have we seen win national championships that we then looked at in years later and we're like, oh my God, everybody was getting paid. Oh, my God. These boys were cheating their tails off that, you know, we steal. That's the Heisman winner.

That's the national champion. So if you're asking, does cheating pay? Yes. Yes, it does. If you can get away with it, if you can do it in a way that you don't get caught until afterwards when it's already record books. Yeah. I mean, this is objectively proving that.

Because look at their punishment. So, and yeah, there's a little bit more to it. what I read because there there is going to be a suspension for Sharon Moore, their head coach. They actually, Michigan self-imposed week three and week four of this season. And the NCAA tacked on one more. So he's going to have to not be on the sidelines for the first game of 2026. So he gets a three-game suspension. So, you know, fines that are going to be somewhere between 20 to 30 million and your head coach gets suspended three games.

But if you were to ask any Michigan fan, is it worth $30 million, which is not your money, the way. Is it worth $30 million of your program's money and your head coach getting suspended three games to win a national freaking championship that they will not take away from you? The answer is absolutely yes. So, hey, listen, again, I know Michigan fans will say, hey, that team would have won the championship anyway. You're putting way too much value on the sign stealing. Okay, if you know that for sure, why bother to cheat? If you're going to go through all that trouble to steal the signs to have this organized ring of cheating why go through all the trouble if you know for sure you're winning the championship anyway so that's how i would turn that

around i i don't care to turn around any kind of way in terms of oh what does cheating mean or who gets what from cheating it happened period it happened there what cannot be argued and i understand the argument of everybody stealing signs they just took it to another level i understand that that's follow me. You took it to a level that was outside the rules, period. Period. Period. That's what the determined. That's what it determined. Teams have nutritionists. I am sure that the level of nutrition that is provided for Miami is very different from the level of nutrition that is provided for Edward Waters University. I'm sure. I'm sure. So that's legal. You know it's not legal? providing your players with trend

providing your players with testosterone replacement to say oh well this is just a supplement this is no different than the other no some things are within the rules some things are outside the rules now if the rules can the rules change one day to say hey you can do advanced they're like sure they might

but as it stood right then you were cheating just like we talk about with SMU they were doing NIL before NIL was legal but guess what at that time when they got to death penalty was it legal No. No. No. What Michigan was doing at the time that they were doing it was illegal. Point blank period. I don't care for all the arguments of everybody does it or, you know, it's not that big of a deal. We would have won anyway. At the end of the day, it happened. Now, in terms of do I care what the penalty is or should the penalty have been more severe, whatever the case may be, from my perspective there, I look at it like this. If you're not going to vacate wins, stop with all this foolish. If you're not going to vacate a championship, stop with all this foolishness.

What is $20 million to one of the richest universities in the world? It's a drop in the bucket. What is Sharon Moore not being on the sideline when, let's be honest, he was an interim coach who received a full-time tag. What is him not being on the sideline for three games? Not to mention three weeks break. He gets to probably sit up in a box somewhere and text his assistant coaches. Not to mention, Dono, those three games, I'm pretty sure the three games that

they pick, none of them are against top teams. So what are we actually doing here in terms of this punishment? To me, I'm fine with saying, hey, this didn't reach the level of a very severe punishment. So we're just going to kind of, I mean, objectively speaking, we kind of got to let it go. But don't put out a statement saying that it reached the level for us to vacate wins and vacate every step. But we're not going to do that for the sake of fairness. Either you do it or you don't.

But don't tell me, I would. It's like that one guy that you go to the club with Donald, that one friend, It's always talking about, oh, I would have knocked them out if somebody looked at me like that. Oh, I would have knocked them out. Oh, you should have told me that got punched. Dono, I would have put them clean on his behind. Well, could have what a should is. And if ifs were fifths, Donald and I would be drunk.

But here we sitting sober talking to you about what cheating scandals did or did not mean. Well, coming up next, we'll talk about what this means for the NCAA because it sends me a very clear sign. I'll also talk about a big time recruit that Florida State has landed. see if they hold on to him this time, if they can, tremendous player. You want to keep it locked right here? We're only getting started on this brand new episode of Lockdowne ACC. My friends, as summer winds down, something nice about getting back into a routine that you love. And Wayfair makes it easy to set yourself up for the season ahead.

From bedding and linens to storage solutions for every room, Wayfair is your one-stop shop to refresh your home. Folks, I love working with Wayfair because they, their delivery is fast and free, even for the big stuff. It's so convenient. My wife and I love this to find exactly what we needed all in one place and at one price to fit our budget. This is the perfect time to get your homes ready, whether that's organizing, upgrading your workspace, or making weeknight dinners easier.

Get organized, refreshed, and back to the routine for way less. Head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-R.com. Wayfair, every style, every home. Thank you for making Lockdown ACCC, your first listen. For your next list and check out our other shows. Kenton Gibbs and Grace and Boone host Locked-on Wolfpack, taking you through all things NC State.

I host Lockdown Keynes taking you through all things, Miami. And all right, so, you know, Kenton, again, it's the NCAA has clearly evolved when it comes to enforcement. They do not have the sort of teeth that they use. used to have. You referenced SMU a few decades ago, four decades ago now, getting the death penalty. You know, less than that, about two decades ago, 2004, after that, USC had to vacate a BCS title, right? They had to vacate wins and championships. You know, at one point, this is, you know, kind of lesser compared to those, but obviously I cover Miami. And the reason why Miami has only played in one ACC championship game,

and not too is because they were under a postseason ban, which included ACC championship game back in. I think it was 2012, something like that. So the NCAA used to not have this motto of, hey, we really shouldn't punish the kids that are here now for what the previous administration did. That's something new. Now, I will tell you, inconsistency aside,

I don't actually mind it, Kenton, because again, I do understand the logic of, hey, like, you know, Bryce Underwood is just out of high school. Why are you punishing him for what the former head coach, and by the way, Jim Harbaugh has like an eight-year college band now. I don't think he cares. He's in the NFL. And Connor Stallions has a 10-year show-cause ban for working for a college program.

But they're not going to punish Bryce Underwood for what people did, you know, two years before he ever stepped foot on Michigan's campus. And so this clearly shows you the new trend. The NCAA has much less power and much less. less ammunition for which hunts or even legitimate penalties the way that they used to decade, two, decade, three decades ago. I disagree. This isn't about the NCAA not having teeth.

The NCAA has always played favorites. The NCAA has always made sure that its cash cows are protected and taking care of. Let's be honest. SMU did not get the death penalty because they were paying people. They got the death penalty because they weren't supposed to be winning. And they were an easier target. It's easier to give SMU the death penalty than Ohio State. Exactly.

It's easier to have that type of situation than a Michigan per se. If you give Michigan a death penalty, a lot of people are arguing, well, you know, Michigan was terrible for years or not terrible, but Michigan wasn't that good for years. They were middling for years and the viewership of the Big Ten was fine. No, it wasn't. Objectively speaking, the viewership of the Big Ten skyrocketed. when Michigan got good again.

So it's an objective fact that this is one of the biggest brands in the game, in the sport, in the conference, you're not going to play around with that. You're not going to sit up here and play around and say, oh, we could potentially take that away, which the NCAA has always done.

Remember before the transfer portal, all of these quarterbacks that were transferring out, we're getting waivers and vouchers to play right away. And meanwhile, players who had legitimate, Hey, I'm going back to Illinois because my grandmother is sick and I grew up with my grandma. She raised me and I want to go to a place where she can see me play. Oh, Tatini said the kiddie when the milk went dry.

Meanwhile, Justin Fields, a Georgia native was able to transfer from Georgia to Ohio State without a coaching chain, without a position coaching chain, without anything that will warrant a transfer and get a waiver right away. So objectively, when I look at this, I don't see this as the instance. Losing power, would I instead see this as is the NCAA doing what they've always done. They go after certain schools. Oh, Jim Balvano has players who are selling their own shoes. They're selling their own gear. NC State needs to be hit with the biggest fines there can be. Wait, UNC has a decades-long academic scandal going on?

Well, there were regular students who benefited, so we can't punish the athletes. It's what the NCAA has done. forever and protecting Michigan, the winningest football program in all of the sport, objectively speaking. That's not me saying that they're the winningest. They are the winningest. Then protecting them makes perfect sense with the NCAA's track. Now, if they did this for Arkansas State, then I would say, oh, this is a little different. What the what the Red Wolves down in Jonesville do to get this type of treatment? Now, it's funny because just using social media as my barometer. The people who are angriest about this are Ohio State fans, right? Because they,

they wanted to see their hated rival just get, you know, completely shredded. But I will remind Ohio State fans, believe me, the NCAA would do the same thing for you. If you ever find yourself in that situation, they will give you the same sort of lenient treatment. Do not worry about that. So this is, and by the way, the way that I framed this earlier, I don't mean it. I know people look at me like, oh, of course, the might. Miami guys trash talking Florida State again. I don't mean it this way. Okay, so Florida State, Kenton, today Friday, has just landed a flip for one of the best class of 2026 recruits in the entire country.

Isaiah Williams out of Tavares, Florida, is the third rated linebacker in the entire class according to the 24-7 composite. Like this is a game changer, you know, borderline program changer type of player, high-level four-star borderline. five star. The reason why I say, let's see if he sticks. So Isaiah Williams, Kenton, has, he's already been committed before to Florida State and get a load of Isaiah Williams's commitment timeline. And we're still, we're still four months away from National Signing Day, mind you. Isaiah Williams has been committed to Louisville, decommitted from Louisville, committed to Syracuse, decommitted from Syracuse, committed to Florida State, decommitted from Florida

to commit to their rival Florida. Decommitted from Florida to commit to Ole Miss. Now he flips from Ole Miss to Florida State. So he has been committed to six different school, well, I guess five different schools. One of them he's been committed to twice. So this is like musical chairs, Kenton,

that, you know, getting the commitment from Isaiah Williams in August may not count for a whole lot. Whoever is left standing on National Signing Day, December 21st is the one who wins the prize. Dono, I hear you, but what if I told you there was a running back from Miami or rather, yeah, a running back from Miami who in his recruitment, he was committed to Clemson and then flipped to Florida and then ended up signing with Florida State and then went on

to becoming All-American and then went on to becoming an all-pro in the NFL and a multiple-time pro bowler. Would you believe me? I feel like I should know who this is, but I hope you tell me, because I'm sure it's, who are we talking about here? A young man by the name of Dalvin Cook. Oh, yeah, he was pretty good. And here's the deal. And here's the deal.

I myself was originally committed to the University of Illinois before the defensive line coaches, I played with the defensive line coach's grandkids at Kastak. And the defensive line coach's grandkids told me he's leaving. He's going elsewhere. So, you know, I don't think you want to be there because I love that coach. I wanted to be there because of him. And I decommitted. And then I didn't commit anywhere else again until I got to NC State.

So I don't want to be the pot. You decommitted one time. You didn't decommit five times. Here's the deal. Here's the deal. And I was just about to say, I don't want to be the pot called a kettle of black. So I do want to acknowledge that. So the faith, I do want to be there.

Fair enough. Fair enough. But now, with that being, said, this is a little worrisome. This is a little bit worrisome. Don't get me wrong. The fact that he was able to decommit five times and still have big time offers, because let's be honest, these coaches see this the same way we do.

The coaches see, guys, when they jump in, one foot in, one foot out, I'm committing here, I'm committing here, I want to play here, I need NIO here, I got more NIO, whatever the case may be, right? Whatever it is that has him committing and decommitting so often, the coaches see that. But he is at a level. of talent that has these coaches saying, I could give a rats behind if he commit to Sally Jane hair school. I could care less if he commits to Lackawanna Blues community color. I don't care.

If we have a chance to get him on this campus, that offer is going to stand. He's a phenomenal player. And I'm going to tell you, this is a rocky start regardless of where he lands. This is going to be a rocky start. But it's not about how you start. is about how you finish. If he has a rocky start in terms of his career with all of these commitments and decommitments,

and then he goes on to become a multiple time, All-American, do you think anybody's going to care? No, but also, don't forget about the transfer portal. So he might end up playing for four different schools at the end of the day. But guess what? But guess what? If he's a freshman All-American, and then he says, I'm a transfer for some more N-I-L,

do you think the teams are going to be like, hmm, I don't want him? Five-D commitments, and he's a little transfer Absolutely not With their money out like Fry in Futurama Shut up and take my money That's what they'll be saying

So again To me it's only a big story Because he's still in high school And he's still doing all the committing And decommitting and all that I'm Brian Smith is the guy who follows All the recruiting very close I follow recruiting somewhat

But I don't follow it too closely Because of stuff like this 17 and 18 year olds You never know why they're changing their mind or who's pulling the strings behind closed doors, or in my situation, what's going on at the university that we don't know about, right? There's all these different factors that go into committing and decommitting,

but five times does seem a little of greed. It does. It does seem like what's going on here, you know? There's like everything in life functions on a bail curve where it's like, you know, there's not enough. Okay, now we're at a good point. All right, you're tipping over the bail curve now. Too much.

Stop. And five feels like that point. I hope that he can silence the noise and say, you know what? This is where I need to be. This is what I need to do. And that's that on now. Coming up next, why is Big Bad Fox Sports standing in our way of a college football red zone? You want to keep it locked right here on Locked on ACC.

Oh, folks, I already know you're keeping it locked to Fandual. Guys, August 26th is officially FanDuel Futures Day. brand new holiday for football fans who live for bold predictions and preseason hunches for just 24 hours. August 26, Fandual is giving you deals on NFL season predictions. So whether you're calling your MVP, I keep going back and forth between Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. I'm going to lock in one of those on August 26th. You're eyeing a long shot division winner or you're ready to crown your Super Bowl champ before week one even kicks off. This is your moment.

Right. I mean, Philadelphia Eagles are favored to repeat, or if you think Kansas City is going to bounce back, guys, lock in your Super Bowl champion in August on August 26th. Visit the Fandual app today to start planning your futures bets right now, because Futures Day is one day and one day only. Fandual, play your game. Thank you for making Lockdown ACC your first listen. He's Kenton Gibbs from Lockdown Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono from Lockdown Keynes. All right, so, you know, you got this big mega deal coming up, ESPN and the NFL, which is going to move the NFL red zone channel to ESPN. And Roger Goodell even teased a college football red zone channel on ESPN. But according to a report from front office sports, Fox sports could be a significant hurdle in the race to produce a college red zone offering. Fox carries the Big Noon game of the week in the Big Ten,

as well as other conference offerings for both the Big Ten and the Big 12. And front office reports that Fox is unlikely to license its Big Ten or Big 12 games to ESPN for fear of cannibalizing its own viewership. Quote, Fox would require significant ownership in the venture to have any willingness to participate. And so what folks need to remember, Kenton, is even though you watch your NFL games on Sundays and Mondays, and yeah, you're seeing those. those NFL games on multiple different networks, CBS, Fox, ESPN.

But the difference is the NFL owns the broadcast rights to all of those games. So they can consolidate those into one red zone channel. We don't have TV deals like that in college football. So I can understand it. Like why would Fox without significant financial taste in this? Why would Fox just allow their games, you know, portions of them to go on, ESPN and like they said, cannibalize their own viewership. That's a huge obstacle here.

Yeah, you're absolutely right. And like you said, you talked about, you know, the, the NCAA doesn't have TV deals like the NFL. Well, no, that's in fact the problem. They have too many TV deals. The NFL has a singular TV deal live to say, hey, we can distribute all of your broadcast. Anybody's broadcast that we want to pick and choose.

We can distribute it how we wanted, where we wanted. What you're going to do about it? What? What? What? What? You're under us. The NCAA has no such thing. The Big Ten has their TV deal.

ACC has their TV deal. SEC has their TV deal. You know, the PAC 2 or the PACT soon to be Pact 12 again has theirs. The Big 12 has theirs. So it's all these different mechanics with all these different players to where it's like, hey, we're going to give up our audience just for the fans' happiness. Dono, are you, do you hear yourself? Fan happiness over me getting my 12th yacht?

You're out of your mind. You're out of your mind. I'm never doing that. You know, Fox Sports and the Murdoch family, you think that they're going to give up? Yeah, okay. I remember watching a show where a gentleman said, clapping one hand and defecating, or I'm sorry, wishing one hand and defecate the other.

We'll see which one feels up first because that's where we are here. What a great thing. You can wish all day that the Big Tim will relinquish their power. and the Fox would relinquish their power and say, you know what, a red zone for college football would be great. But the reality is, if you want that, set up in multiple screens like we've been doing for years, going down to your local bar and, you know, say hi to the bartender and, you know, get you a couple of brews or whatever.

However you do it, you cannot get all of these games in one singular place because there's too much money to be made with them being separate. I mean, the closest that I get to, like on YouTube TV, they do like the quad screen where it does, you know, you select whichever four games you want. But it doesn't do the red zone editing where they only put it on the screen when they're in the red zone, which I freaking love it, Kenton. Like when it comes to NFL Sundays, there's nothing better from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. to put on that red zone, kick my feet up, watch all the scoring opportunities. So, I mean, even if college gives us a taste of that, where if, like, we just get it from the ESPN properties, like, that's better than nothing in my eyes. But obviously, you want to have the biggest Big Ten and Big 12 games a part of that, too. We may be a ways away from that. But you know what?

Maybe if ESPN does it with their properties, it gets so popular. Maybe Fox will say, hey, we feel kind of left out. Maybe we're more inclined to cut a deal. Absolutely. And that way you can take it down from four to five screens like we used to be. do back in the day to just want to. You know, you got your SEC ACC ACC screen over here. You got the Big 12

Big 10 screen over here. You know, you put on red zone on both of them and you just sit there, oh, what's going on over there? Oh, what's going on over here? Okay, we got a lot of good ball being played and let that be that. Yeah, no doubt. Well, we appreciate everyone making Locked on ACC

your first listen all week long. Make sure you smash that like button and subscribe, subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your pods. on YouTube. Make sure you check out our other shows, Locked on Canes, Locked on Wolfpack. Make sure you check out the portal as well. We mentioned our good pal, Brian Smith, who he covers, he covers recruiting like no other, and he breaks all of that down on the portal podcast along with Transfer Portal and NIL. So check that out. And we'll talk to you all next week on another episode of Lockdown ACC. We are part of the awesome Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team every day.