What is going on with this "Outside Investigative Firm"?

Michigan didn’t commit a crime. Why would whistleblower laws apply?

We obviously don’t know anything, but if that person was induced (as Salvatore was asking) then I don’t see how a whistleblower statute is applicable. 

There's no "whistleblower" law for a private institution.  Now, there might be a whistleblower status by NCAA standards but you don't receive legal protections if you commit crimes to unearth that information.

The implication of wrongdoing is that Michigan systemically violated a rule prohibiting in person electronic surveillance of upcoming opponents through advance scouting of their games. But WaPo reports that this didn't happen organically through its own investigative reporting. 

This story notes that an outside firm "approached" the NCAA with information about Michigan allegedly using advanced scouting as part of accepted sign-decoding practices in college football. The story's big reveal is the precise knowledge of the budget for this expense and the suggestion that the recorded material was made available from Stalion's "vast network" of researchers to a computer drive available to unidentified Michigan football coaching staff other than head coach Jim Harbaugh. 

So, the story fails to answer or even address the one question that goes beyond why a week-old story is suddenly the work of multiple sports and news outlets and not one particular news organization which is typically how these stories are generated and reported. In this case, we suddenly have multiple news outlets now investigating the hottest story on one of the biggest names in college sports. 

News organizations will never disclose the identity of their news sources unless it is already public knowledge. This is not an NCAA probe. The NCAA doesn't probe anything on its own. It acts on reporting it receives to decide whether there is something it should look into.

The key to this story was the trigger of the NCAA accepting whatever it got from whom for investigation. And even that decision wasn't made by the NCAA. Probably, more likely from a phone call to the B1G. A story like this cannot become public until that occurs because there is no method of the outside, independent firm coming forward to make the case without its motivation or client being outed. 

And so, that is what Michigan ought to be fighting back for information on, who is responsible for this initial reporting. Who hired an outside firm for the purpose of having it snitch to the NCAA. That's what we can do as a fan base until we get an answer publicly, continue to make the case that without better proof, there is only one likely answer: Ohio State. At the very least it will raise the hate level to a new high when they come to town next month. 

Whistleblowers blow their whistle. They are not investigated by/lured to speak by outside firms. I agree with the OP, I find this entire scenario very troubling. 

If the FBI had real authority, Kansas basketball would have been destroyed. The Feds have Bill Self on tape offering financial inducements to players. On fucking tape. And Bill Self? Why he got a four game slap on the wrist. 

Ok.  Just read the M-live article.  Thanks.  

All of this is still very TBD, but, and so, it could simply be that:

a) the present state/process of the AAPD's investigation of Matt Weiss isn't connected;

b) at this time, there are potentially no official investigative authorities involved (i.e., AAPD, FBI) to the best of our present knowledge;

c) there may yet be revelations that do connect Weiss to the present situation.

The onion is far from peeled.

we can call it his 'redemption tour'.  

I tend to agree with what was discussed at the roundtable this morning.  Ryan Day hired a PI to investigate Michigan.  Some rogue intern turns on Stalion and hands over his text messages to the PI firm which got reported. 

Remember when the M-OSU rivalry gamesmanship was OSU having the hot water turned off at visitor Michigan's hotel the night before the game?

And Huntley.