(BCSNN) — Former Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh and athletic director Warde Manuel have been added to an amended federal lawsuit involving former assistant coach Matt Weiss, who is accused of hacking into the private accounts of female student-athletes and others.
The updated class-action complaint, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, now includes 51 additional defendants, including Harbaugh, Manuel, and former university president Santa Ono.
The lawsuit, originally filed in March 2025, alleges that Weiss illegally accessed and downloaded intimate photos and personal data from the accounts of more than 3,000 student-athletes, primarily women, across over 100 universities. The plaintiffs claim that the University of Michigan allowed Weiss to continue coaching in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl despite being aware of his misconduct. According to court documents, a staff member reported seeing Weiss viewing private information on a university computer as early as December 21, 2022—ten days before the national semifinal game against TCU.
“The university’s delay in taking meaningful protective action until after a high-stakes game sends a clear message: Student welfare was secondary,” said Parker Stinar, lead attorney for the plaintiffs. The lawsuit accuses the university of prioritizing athletic success over student safety and alleges that officials concealed Weiss’s identity during the initial investigation.
Weiss was placed on leave in early January 2023 and fired later that month. He was indicted by the FBI in March 2025 on 14 counts of unauthorized access and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors allege that Weiss used encryption software and external tools to breach cloud storage, email, and social media accounts in search of private images. He has pleaded not guilty.
Harbaugh, now head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, has denied knowledge of Weiss’s actions prior to the Fiesta Bowl. “The allegations were shocking,” Harbaugh said earlier this year. “I was not aware of any investigation or misconduct until after the game.” However, the lawsuit contends that Harbaugh failed to exercise oversight of his staff and allowed Weiss to remain in a position of authority despite red flags.
Also named in the amended complaint are interim university president Domenico Grasso, former president Mark Schlissel, and software vendor Keffer Development Services. The plaintiffs allege 23 counts, including violations of Title IX, civil rights, and privacy laws. They are seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages.
The university has not issued a new statement since the amended filing but previously acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations and pledged full cooperation with law enforcement. The case has drawn national attention, raising broader concerns about institutional accountability and digital privacy in collegiate athletics.
As the legal proceedings unfold, the University of Michigan faces mounting scrutiny over its handling of the situation and the broader implications for campus safety and transparency. The plaintiffs argue that the university’s actions—or lack thereof—enabled Weiss to continue his misconduct unchecked during a critical period.
