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Tag: Mel Tucker

  • Sherrone Moore jailed as police investigate situation that led to the fired Michigan coach’s arrest

    ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Sherrone Moore was being held in jail Thursday while police investigate the situation that led to his arrest hours after the once-promising coach was fired at Michigan for what the school said was an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

    Authorities have yet to release details on Moore’s arrest, other than to say he has been held since Wednesday night in the Washtenaw County Jail and remains under investigation.

    Pittsfield Township police had issued a statement that said officers were called to investigate an alleged assault and took a person into custody, without mentioning anyone by name. The statement, however, was released in response to media inquiries about Moore.

    The police department updated its statement in the morning to say the suspect is scheduled for arraignment on Friday.

    Moore, 39, was fired by Michigan, college football’s winningest program that has been mired in scandal, after the school verified evidence of his relationship with the staffer.

    Athletic director Warde Manuel said the behavior “constitutes a clear violation of university policy.”

    The announcement did not include details of the alleged relationship. Moore, who is married with three young daughters, did not return a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

    His departure ends an up-and-down, two-year tenure that saw the Wolverines take a step back on the field after winning the national championship in January 2024 and getting punished by the NCAA for a sign-stealing scandal.

    Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore celebrates with kicker Dominic Zvada (96) after an extra-point kick during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Maryland, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    He led the 18th-ranked Wolverines to a 9-3 record this year after going 8-5 in his debut season.

    Moore signed a five-year contract with a base annual salary of $5.5 million last year. According to the terms of his deal, the university will not have to buy out the remaining years of his contract because he was fired for cause.

    His firing leaves Michigan suddenly looking for a third coach in four years, shortly after a busy cycle that included Lane Kiffin leaving playoff-bound Mississippi for LSU.

    Moore, the team’s former offensive coordinator, was promoted to lead the Wolverines after they won the national title. He succeeded Jim Harbaugh, who returned to the NFL to lead the Los Angeles Chargers.

    Michigan is set to play No. 14 Texas on Dec. 31 in the Citrus Bowl. Biff Poggi, who filled in for Moore when he was suspended earlier this season in relation to the Harbaugh-era sign-stealing scandal, will serve as interim coach. Moore was suspended for two games as part of self-imposed sanctions for NCAA violations related to the scandal.

    The NCAA added a third game to the suspension, which would have kept Moore off the sideline for next year’s opener against Western Michigan.

    Moore previously deleted an entire 52-message text thread with former staffer Connor Stalions, who was at the center of the team’s sign-stealing operation. The texts were later recovered and shared with the NCAA.

    Just a few years ago, Moore was Harbaugh’s top assistant and regarded as a rising star.

    Moore, who is from Derby, Kansas, didn’t start playing football until his junior year of high school. He played for Butler County Community College in Kansas and as an offensive lineman for coach Bob Stoops at Oklahoma during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

    His coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Louisville before moving on to Central Michigan, where he caught Harbaugh’s attention. Harbaugh hired him in 2018 as tight ends coach.

    Moore was promoted to offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2021, when the Wolverines bounced back from a 2-4, pandemic-shortened season and began a three-year run of excellence that culminated in the school’s first national title in 26 years.

    He worked his way up within the Wolverines’ staff and filled in as interim coach for four games during the 2023 championship season while Harbaugh served two suspensions for potential NCAA rules violations.

    Moore also served a one-game suspension during that year related to a recruiting infractions NCAA case.

    Earlier in the 2023 season, Michigan State fired coach Mel Tucker for cause after he engaged in what he described as consensual phone sex with an activist and rape survivor. In 2012, Arkansas fired coach Bobby Petrino due to a sordid scandal that involved a motorcycle crash, an affair with a woman who worked for him and being untruthful to his bosses.

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    Associated Press Writer Ed White contributed.

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  • Michigan Football Fans Troll Mel Tucker With Epic Sign Prior To Game vs. MSU [Photo]

    Michigan Football Fans Troll Mel Tucker With Epic Sign Prior To Game vs. MSU [Photo]

    In the lead-up to tonight’s rivalry game between Michigan and Michigan State, Michigan football fans were spotted adding a little extra spice to the festivities with a humorous banner aimed at former Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker. The banner, hung prominently at a tailgate near the Big House, read: “Mel Tucker went to Diddy’s party.”

    The sign is a clear reference to recent controversies surrounding both Tucker and hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. Tucker, who was dismissed from his role with the Spartans due to allegations of misconduct, has been a hot topic in the sports world. Combs, meanwhile, faces serious allegations as well, involving multiple charges stemming from accusations of using his music empire inappropriately. Michigan fans didn’t miss the opportunity to connect these two high-profile stories in a bit of rivalry week trolling.

    The playful jab at Tucker’s scandal has been shared widely on social media, drawing laughs and reactions from both Michigan and Michigan State fans. Rivalries often bring out creative banter between fan bases, and this banner is a reminder of just how intense the Michigan-Michigan State matchup can be.

    Michigan and Michigan State will face off tonight in Ann Arbor, and with emotions running high, fans are undoubtedly going all out to support their teams both on and off the field.

    W.G. Brady

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  • Big Ten fines MSU $100K, reprimands Mich for tunnel melee

    Big Ten fines MSU $100K, reprimands Mich for tunnel melee

    ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Big Ten has disciplined Michigan State and Michigan for their roles in stadium tunnel altercations that led to seven Spartans being charged with crimes.

    The conference announced Monday that it is fining Michigan State $100,000 for its players “hitting, kicking or using of their helmet” to hit Michigan players and suspending cornerback Khary Crump, who is facing a felony charge, for the first eight games of next season.

    The Big Ten is also reprimanding Michigan for not providing adequate protection for both teams as they left the playing surface.

    “The Big Ten Conference has a standard of excellence both academically and athletically that has been built over 127 years,” said Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren, who attended the game a month ago and has a son, Powers Warren, who is a walk-on tight end for the Spartans. “Our standards require that our student-athletes, coaches and staff members represent the conference, and their member institutions, with the highest level of decorum and sportsmanship.

    “We are taking disciplinary action and will continue to work with our member institutions to strengthen their game day procedures and ensure our honored traditions.”

    The Big Ten said the suspensions that ended the season for seven other Michigan State players was sufficient. The conference also said the schools properly addressed a staff member who violated the Big Ten’s sportsmanship policy that was unrelated to the tunnel altercations.

    Last Wednesday, the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office charged seven Michigan State football players for their actions Oct. 29 following the game at Michigan Stadium.

    The most serious charge is against Crump, who faces one count of felonious assault, and the other six players are charged with misdemeanors. Crump in one video appears to swing his helmet at a Michigan player. That could account for the more serious charge, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison. State law describes felonious assault as an attack “using knife, iron bar, club, brass knuckles or other dangerous weapon without intending to commit murder or to inflict great bodily harm.”

    Linebacker Itayvion “Tank” Brown, safety Angelo Grose, cornerback Justin White, defensive end Brandon Wright and defensive end Zion Young are each charged with one count of aggravated assault while linebacker Jacoby Windmon faces one count of assault and battery. A conviction for a misdemeanor count of assault carries a prison term of up to one year, while misdemeanor assault and battery carries a maximum sentence of 93 days behind bars.

    “Our institution does not excuse the concerning actions by some of our student-athletes,” Michigan State Interim President Teresa K. Woodruff said in a statement. “At the same time, we challenge ourselves collectively to be thoughtful in how we approach this situation so that further harm isn’t needlessly done.

    “What seems to be missing from the disciplinary outcomes are the learning opportunities that can and should coexist with findings of fault. We must ask ourselves: Are we doing enough, as leaders, to help further safety within our competitions through meaningful actions and education? Or are we risking the opportunities and livelihoods of young people without creating change for success in the future?”

    Spartans cornerback Malcolm Jones, one of the suspended players, is not facing charges, nor are any players from Michigan.

    Following the Wolverines’ 29-7 win over their in-state rivals, social media posts showed Michigan State players roughing up Michigan’s Ja’Den McBurrows in and near a hallway that doesn’t lead to either locker room. Brown, Grose and Young are clearly seen on video getting physical with McBurrows.

    McBurrows skipped into the tunnel after the game and defensive back Gemon Green walked up it alongside Spartans while much of Michigan’s team was waving the Spartans off the field.

    Green, in another post, is seen surrounded by police while shouting across the tunnel at Michigan State players.

    The prosecutor’s office did not provide detail on the allegations, including who is accused of hitting whom. It was not clear when the charged players will make initial appearances in court.

    No. 2 Michigan secured the Big Ten East Division title by beating rival Ohio State, and is preparing to face unranked Purdue in the conference championship game. A win would give the Wolverines a spot in the College Football Playoff.

    Michigan State won five games under third-year coach Mel Tucker, who helped them go 11-2 last season with a second straight win over the Wolverines.

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  • Michigan State president: Post-game melee ‘unacceptable’

    Michigan State president: Post-game melee ‘unacceptable’

    ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan State President Samuel Stanley called actions by Spartans players involved in a postgame melee with members of rivalry Michigan’s team “unacceptable” and said Sunday those involved would be held responsible by coach Mel Tucker.

    “I’m extremely saddened by this incident and the unacceptable behavior depicted by members of our program,” Stanley said in a statement. “On behalf of Michigan State University, my heartfelt apology to the University of Michigan and the student athletes who were injured.

    “There is no provocation that could justify the behavior we are seeing on the videos. Rivalries can be intense but should never be violent.”

    The scuffle broke out in the Michigan Stadium tunnel out after fourth-ranked Wolverines beat the Spartans 29-7 Saturday night. Social media posts showed at least three Michigan State players pushing, punching and kicking Michigan’s Ja’Den McBurrows in and near a hallway that does not lead to either locker room.

    Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said Saturday that a second player, who he did not identify, was also attacked and that one player was injured and might have a broken nose.

    “Two of our players were assaulted,” Harbaugh said. “I saw on the one video. 10 on one. It was pretty bad. It needs to be investigated.”

    Tucker said in a tweet Sunday that his program will cooperate with law enforcement and the Big Ten in any investigation.

    “As Spartans, our program has a responsibility to uphold the highest level of sportsmanship. While emotions were very high at the conclusion of our rivalry game at Michigan Stadium, there is no excuse for behavior that puts our team or our opponents at risk,” Tucker said. “In complete cooperation with law enforcement, the Big Ten Conference and MSU and UM leadership, we will evaluate the events in Ann Arbor and take swift and appropriate action.”

    University of Michigan Deputy Police Chief Melissa Overton said an investigation is underway in partnership with Michigan State police, and Michigan’s athletic department and football program.

    “Coach Tucker will be holding the players involved responsible, and our football team and university will be cooperating with all related investigations by law enforcement and the Big Ten Conference,” Stanley said.

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