Meet Jim Stapleton

Submitted by evenyoubrutus on October 25th, 2023 at 1:12 PM

[EDITOR'S NOTE This post went up a few days ago and I took it down until now because I feared what the outcome might be from angry Michigan fans being given a boogeyman to pin that anger on. This is not a reflection on the OP, who linked all of the information he shared. John U. Bacon is also talking about this guy. It is a reflection of some of the commenters.

I do not defend or condone Stapleton's actions, but I do recognize he is probably acting in what he thinks is Michigan's best interests. I also want to stress that one person using his power and influence to hurt Michigan has nothing to do with the conduct of Michigan or its staffers, nor the conduct of Ohio State, the NCAA, and disreputable reporters. Information is important; anyone detected trying to make him into an Emmanuel Goldstein gets banned. --Seth]

A few days ago, one of the more obnoxious users on the board posted this comment:

I do handyman type work for a commercial property management company in Ann Arbor. We have a half dozen big properties on Main St. lots of our tenants are big local companies you'd know. One tenant tells me that a guy he does a business with is a lawyer who is closely connected to UM athletics, and apparently despises Harbaugh. He apparently was a big Ron English advocate back in 2014 during the coaching search, I kid you not. He was bitter that Michigan didn't go with "his guy" and has never let go of that bitterness. Not long ago he got himself onto the infractions committee at the NCAA and he has major pull now wrt their investigations, and it was shortly thereafter that cheeseburger scandal erupted.

Upon further digging, it turns out that this anecdote is in reference to Jim Stapleton, who is listed on the NCAA's website as a member of the committee on infractions.

Stapleton did indeed campaign for Ron English for a period of time when he was a regent for Eastern Michigan University:

EMU regent Jim Stapleton remains in contact with English and marvels at how he has changed.

"There is no doubt it was a blip on the radar screen during five years with the program," Stapleton said. "There was so much turmoil the last year of the program. Anybody who has worked with the man and knows the history knows that is in no way, shape or form of who he is."

He was also a big Hoke guy:

One fan did not agree, even after Michigan's 26-10 loss to Utah that shook Blue Nation again. Big Michigan booster and current Eastern Michigan University regent Jim Stapleton accused me of falling off a truck and bumping my head.

And he apparently had a hand in Rodriguez's demise:

His reach also extends to the NFL:

And just this year SI wrote a long form article entitled:

Meet the Officials Who Volunteered for an NCAA Job Most Would Run Away From

“I think this is a critical time in this industry, which is one reason I put my hand up to serve,” says Jim Stapleton, an attorney and former regent at Eastern Michigan University. “This group can really make a difference.”

If "most would run away from" this job, it makes you wonder why such a busy man who has a well documented agenda and such strong opinions about Michigan's coaches would run towards it.

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Blau

October 25th, 2023 at 2:14 PM ^

Layman's terms - This guy is, or is connected to, the leak of information and is using his position on the infractions committee to circumvent his frustrations with Harbaugh/UM?

If he's an alumni and a booster to the program, how is he not recused from investigations taking place at an institution he attended, regardless of his stance on an issue? I do not believe he thinks he has the university's best interest in mind. If what is assumed to be true, it's his own he's looking out for.

In what should be a fun season celebrating wins and player/team accomplishments, is now turning into a weird version of Maury and were all just waiting for the next thing to pop out from the backstage green room. In the words of Clark Griswald, "This is no longer a vacation. It's a quest."

Joined: 01/23/2014

MGoPoints: 35254

1201 S. Main St.

October 26th, 2023 at 12:07 PM ^

No, it's about control.  By all accounts, this is a very wealthy man who I'm sure has a history of having his input valued and getting his way.  Michigan no longer putting much value in his thoughts, I'm sure, pissed him off.  How could the institution he attended and is a booster for not value what he has to say? Going out of his way to sabotage RichRod and now with Harbaugh is his way of "showing" the university, see, look what these guys I didn't want you to hire have done? You should have listened to me because the guys I wanted you to hire would never have done anything to violate the NCAA rules.  This reeks of rich pouty asshole not getting his way and doing what he can to show a program what happens when you don't "value" his input. 

Joined: 10/09/2015

MGoPoints: 844

TruBluMich

October 23rd, 2023 at 7:45 PM ^

Just what everyone needs another attorney turned politician turned NCAA enforcement member??? with a power trip.  Apparently he never watched Ron English try to play defensive coordinator.  Ron English was the first coach I ever heard chants in the stadium to be fired.  Pretty sure, it was the third quarter of the Oregon game a week after the horror.

Not sure if he has anything to do with what has clearly turned into a witch hunt. But the allegations seem to line up, so we need an NCAA investigation launched against him immediately. (At least that's how I think this whole thing works)

Joined: 08/03/2011

MGoPoints: 21953

Clarence Boddicker

October 25th, 2023 at 2:20 PM ^

Well, I, for one, would like to thank Jim Stapleton for tanking Harbaugh's shot at coaching the Vikings. The obsession with getting Ron English installed as coach at a school he's not affiliated with, when English failed as a coach at the school he was connected to, and the subsequent near-decade long grudge against the coach who, most deservedly, got the job instead to is...fucking bizarre. The fact that he's this Steve Urquel all grown up-looking brotha doesn't help. And what white head coach in college football does more to boost the profile of his African-American coaches than Harbaugh? That's one of the things, beyond the success on the field, that I love the dude for.

Joined: 05/27/2011

MGoPoints: 70773

J. Redux

October 23rd, 2023 at 7:50 PM ^

There's no need to doxx the guy.

To paraphrase The Office, before we do a thing, let's ask ourselves, would an RCMB rando do this thing?  And if the answer is yes, we should not do this thing.

Joined: 10/15/2020

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