On Saturday, Michigan will face Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game. And if the Wolverines win, it will bring them one step closer to not only a national championship, but apparently, a statue of Connor Stalions.
How?
During Tuesday’s episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, the show aired a compilation of producer Lucy Rohden interviewing fans in Ann Arbor ahead of last weekend’s rivalry game between Michigan and Ohio State. At one point in the segment, a Wolverines fan suggested that Stalions — the former Michigan recruiting staffer accused of orchestrating an elaborate in-person sign-stealing scheme that has resulted in Jim Harbaugh serving a three-game suspension and an ongoing NCAA investigation — deserves a statue in front of “The Big House.”
Dan Le Batard agrees.
So much so, that the Meadowlark Media co-founder pledged to build a statue of Stalions should the second-ranked Wolverines win the national championship this season.
“I would be willing to build Michigan a Connor Stalions statue if they win the national championship,” Le Batard said. “I will make it an ornate, wonderful thing. Expensive. I’m willing to do that if Michigan wins the championship… it would be made of a material that would make Michigan men proud.”
“You will do this?” producer Mike Ryan Ruiz asked.
“Yes,” Le Batard replied. “I am willing to fund a project on behalf of Meadowlark Media to build Michigan a Connor Stalions statue that I will insist be put in a prominent place on campus.”
While some might think Le Batard — despite his insistence to the contrary — was joking, this is the kind of thing that’s right up the former Miami Herald columnist’s alley. After LeBron James left the Miami Heat to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, Le Batard littered the four-time MVP’s hometown of Akron with billboards telling him “you’re welcome” for his two NBA titles in South Beach.
But while that stunt resulted in Le Batard being suspended by ESPN — despite the fact that he had talked about doing it for days while on air — he’s now his own boss. Should the Wolverines beat the Hawkeyes on Saturday, let alone advance to the national title game, it’s a safe bet that building a Stalions statue in Ann Arbor will become a more prominent conversation on Le Batard’s show.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.