07/20/26 10:32:00
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07/20 10:28 CDT Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel agrees to buyout after
probe, will step down at end of 2026
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel agrees to buyout after probe, will step
down at end of 2026
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) --- The University of Michigan and athletic director
Warde Manuel have agreed to a buyout of the remaining three years on his
contract and he will step down at the end of 2026, culminating a decade-long
run with four national championships and a string of scandals.
The announcement on Monday followed investigations into former football coach
Sherrone Moore's relationship with his executive assistant and a probe into the
athletic department.
"The broader culture review has identified serious concerns that require
immediate action," interim school president Domenico Grasso said.
Michigan won this year's men's basketball title and the 2023 national
championship in football under Manuel, but that wasn't enough for him to keep
his job. Grasso said he asked Manuel to remain in his role through the end of
the year.
"I am happy President Grasso asked me to stay on to work with him to implement
the recommendations for continuous improvement," Manuel said in a statement
released by the athletic department. "I promise everyone I will have more to
say about my decision at the appropriate time."
The storied athletic department has been in turmoil for years, with
scandal-tinged headlines jarringly alongside general excellence across most of
the school's 27 teams in Division I and the Wolverines annually among the best
in the powerhouse Big Ten. It got worse last December, when Manuel fired Moore
following a law firm's investigation into a relationship he had with a
subordinate.
The school later chose to widen the look into the department. A law firm was
paid about $12 million to do the work and it interviewed nearly 300 people,
including coaches, staff members, athletes and other stakeholders. The school
said more than 90 people shared information via a hotline and 20,000-plus
documents were reviewed during the investigations.
The athletic department review found problems with leadership accountability,
organizational structure and a culture that didn't make employees and athletes
feel comfortable raising concerns.
"The culture assessment is sobering," Grasso said. "As a great university, we
simply must do better."
The school said the investigation did not find widespread misconduct. It also
said the investigations did not identify any current employee with direct
evidence of Moore's relationship with his executive assistant.
The 58-year-old Manuel, who played football for the Wolverines under the late
Bo Schembechler and was on the track team, was hired to lead the department in
2016. He signed a contract extension at Michigan in 2024 that was set to run
through June 2030, paying him a base salary of $1.9 million a year with
opportunities to make more with bonuses and merit.
He led a department with an annual budget of about $250 million, 29 teams,
950-plus athletes and about 400 staff members.
The Wolverines won the national championship in football under former coach Jim
Harbaugh, who later left to lead the Los Angeles Chargers, as a sign-stealing
scandal loomed over the program and Moore's tenure.
The program is on NCAA probation and has seen many former staffers have run-ins
with the law, including Matt Weiss, who is charged with hacking into the
computer accounts of thousands of college athletes to find intimate images.
Michigan won it all in men's basketball earlier this year with coach Dusty May,
who left to lead the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. Michigan also won men's and
women's gymnastics national titles with Manuel as AD.
The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame gave Manuel the John
L. Toner Award in 2024, honoring him for demonstrating superior administrative
abilities and dedication to college athletics, especially football. He
represented Michigan and the Big Ten as member of the College Football Playoff
Selection Committee and was chair during the 2004 season when the 12-team
playoff format kicked off.
Manuel, who is from New Orleans, previously served as athletic director at
UConn and Buffalo after working in Michigan's athletic department in various
roles from 1996 to 2005.
Grasso said the school will conduct a national search for a new athletic
director.
Potential candidates include three former Michigan athletes: Iowa Deputy
Athletic Director Joe Parker, Big Ten Deputy Commissioner Diane Dietz and Katie
Fraumann, a senior vice president at DePaul. Parker and Fraumann previously
worked for Michigan's athletic department.
___
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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