Louisville fans demand 2013 national title back after Michigan’s soft punishment

It takes a lot to get stripped of a national championship, but apparently, a member of your coaching staff stealing signs from your upcoming opponents during your championship run isn’t enough. 

The NCAA’s punishment for Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal during its 2023 national championship season came down today. It included heavy fines, a three-game suspension for current head coach Sherrone Moore, and a 10-year show-cause order for Jim Harbaugh, who has already escaped to the safety of the NFL, but it did not strip the university of its championship or any of its wins. 

Naturally, the social media conversation quickly shifted to the most recent program forced to vacate its title, the 2013 Louisville basketball team, and fans, Michigan haters, and just about everyone online is demanding that the title be reinstated after what they’ve deemed to be a soft punishment came down on the Wolverines. 

The NCAA deemed that it would not be fair to levy a postseason ban against the Michigan program because it would be punishing current players who had nothing to do with the coaching staff’s actions, and that’s a surprisingly reasonable argument from a historically unreasonable governing body. A postseason may not be the right thing, but neither was stripping Louisville of its national championship. 

Michigan shouldn’t have its title vacated, and in fact, the NCAA may not have the power to because it was a College Football Playoff National Championship, not technically an NCAA title. Regardless, the fact that none of the wins from the season were vacated goes against the precedent set with Louisville and should lend credence to the program’s argument to get the title officially reinstated. 

Ultimately, what does vacating a national championship accomplish? Everyone still remembers who won the games, just like everyone remembered that Reggie Bush won the 2005 Heisman trophy before it was reinstated last year. It’s time to do the same for the Cardinals. 

Particularly in an age of legalized gambling, any action that unfairly impacts the outcome of games should be punished more harshly, yet this looks like a slap on the wrist, and that has everyone, even college sports media who aren’t affiliated with Louisville, frustrated. 

Who knows if Louisville will ever get to hang the banner again? Bush got his Heisman Trophy back, so there’s always hope. Maybe the outrage from this decision will build some momentum.