A new lawsuit from a former Michigan assistant coach alleges the university was aware of the alleged Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal before the 2023 season and actively tried to cover it up.
Chris Partridge, who worked at Michigan in 2023 before his dismissal, alleges in an amended lawsuit that former Michigan president Santa Ono and current Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel discovered evidence of the sign-stealing scandal as part of an investigation into former Michigan assistant Matthew Weiss in January 2023. Weiss was charged with 24 crimes in 2025, which included 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft, for allegedly hacking into accounts of female athletes and stealing private photographs.
Partridge alleges that Ono and Manuel discovered evidence of sign-stealing on Weiss' hard drive, but never reported it to the NCAA or the university's board of regents. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that Ono told university employees, including Manuel, not to take any notes related to the investigation into Weiss to avoid possible disclosure. Partridge, now with the Seattle Seahawks, is suing the university, its board of regents, Ono, Manuel and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti after he believes he was made the "scapegoat" of the situation.
The sign-stealing scandal exploded during the 2023 season, with the Big Ten intervening and suspending Jim Harbaugh for three games. Michigan ultimately won the national championship that season, and Harbaugh left afterward for the Los Angeles Chargers. The NCAA later docked Michigan a significant fine, issued a 10-year show-cause penalty to Harbaugh and put the program on four years of probation, among other penalties.
Partridge's lawsuit also alleges that Michigan administrators were aware of an "inappropriate relationship between former head football coach Sherrone Moore and a subordinate employee for years without taking action to protect the employee." Michigan fired Moore, who replaced Harbaugh, on Dec. 10 for an alleged inappropriate relationship with Paige Shiver, who at the time worked as his executive assistant. In March, Moore pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors -- malicious use of a telecommunication device in a domestic relationship and trespassing -- after allegedly breaking and entering into Shiver's home and threatening to harm himself.
Shiver, who no longer works at Michigan, recently filed a lawsuit against her former employer, alleging the school violated the Freedom of Information Act in denying her requests related to Moore's firing.
The amended Partridge lawsuit arrives at an interesting time for Michigan athletics amid reports Manuel could soon be out of a job. CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello reported Sunday that Manuel was weighing his options, which included retirement.
"The (university) president and I have had several great conversations over the past couple of days," Manuel told Yahoo Sports Monday. "There are no plans for me not to continue to be the athletic director for the near future."
The university commissioned an investigation into the athletics program related to the Moore situation at a reported cost of more than $11 million. Chicago-based law firm Jenner & Block conducted the review, which hasn't been publicly released but was expected to be presented to the university's regents.
In late 2024, Manuel agreed to a five-year contract extension that runs through June 2030. He would be owed three years' worth of compensation if fired, unless a settlement agreement was reached.
