Former Michigan Wolverine Desmond Howard helps launch "Just Fine" t-shirts after NCAA ruling
Former Michigan football player Desmond Howard is making it known that the team and university are going to be OK after launching new "Just Fine" t-shirts following the NCAA's announcement of hefty fines and suspensions in its sign-stealing investigation.
On Friday, Howard introduced the new shirts on social media, saying that proceeds will go to help cover the fines "so the team's focus stays where it needs to be...on the field."
"The NCAA fined Michigan, and the alumni have a response... Just Fine," Howard said in the post.
In a statement posted on the Champions Circle NIL Shop website, Howard said in part, "Our tradition is built on generations of Michigan men and women who forged a legacy through toughness, grit and resilience. We believe the Leaders and Best are not defined by circumstances, but by how they rise above."
CBS News Detroit contacted Howard for additional comment on Friday and is waiting to hear back. He joined the Wolverines in the team's 1988 season, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1991.
The NCAA launched an investigation into U of M's football program in October 2023. Nearly two years later, in August 2025, Michigan was given four years' probation, a $50,000 fine, plus 10% of the budget for the program, and a "fine equivalent to the anticipated loss of all postseason competition revenue sharing associated with the 2025 and 2026 football seasons."
In its investigation, the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions panel says it found that from 2021 to 2023, Michigan committed violations involving "an off-campus, in-person scouting scheme, impermissible recruiting inducements and communications, head coach responsibility rules, individuals' failures to cooperate and Michigan's failure to monitor."
The school also received a 25% reduction in football official visits during the upcoming season and a 14-week probation on recruiting communications in the program during the probation period.
Additionally, head coach Sherrone Moore was given a two-year show-cause order and will be suspended for three games. Former low-level staffer Connor Stalions, who was at the certain of the NCAA's investigation, was given an eight-year show-cause order, restricting him from all athletically related activities during the show-cause period.
Former coach Jim Harbaugh, who now leads the Los Angeles Chargers, was issued a 10-year show-cause order, which begins on Aug. 7, 2028, following the conclusion of a four-year show-cause from a previous case.
The university issued a statement after the NCAA's ruling, saying it will "appeal this decision to ensure a fair result, and we will consider all other options."