Michigan investigating possible shoe sales violations in athletics

Angelique S. Chengelis | The Detroit News

The Michigan compliance office that handles athletics is looking into whether any of its student-athletes sold university-issued Nike shoes, which would violate NCAA rules.

ESPN reported Friday that shoe-marketplace site StockX found 23 pairs of Michigan team-issued shoes on its exchange. This comes on the heels of North Carolina’s suspension of 13 football players this week after the school found they had sold team-issued Nike shoes, which is an NCAA secondary violation.

Michigan is looking into the matter.

“We are aware of the report at North Carolina,” Michigan football spokesman Dave Ablauf said via text Friday night. “Our compliance office is looking into this matter and will determine if anything needs to be reported to the NCAA.”

Ablauf said that Michigan players are told selling team equipment like shoes is an NCAA violation and they must sign a form acknowledging they’ve been informed of this. Also, the Michigan equipment staff issues shoes with players’ names and/or uniform number.

It is allowable for departing senior players and for staff to sell team-issued items, Ablauf said, and not be in violation.

In 2016, Michigan signed an exclusive deal with Nike that runs through at least 2027 and is worth roughly $174 million. The Michigan football and basketball teams wear the Nike Jordan "Jumpman" brand, while the rest of the university's athletic programs are outfitted by Nike.

The ESPN report also indicated the retailer bought shoes from Marquette and California. All three schools, including Michigan, were contacted by North Carolina about the possible violations, ESPN reported.

North Carolina suspended the football players from two to four games.

angelique.chengelis@detroitnews.com

twitter.com/chengelis