Warde Manuel to step down as Michigan athletic director at end of year
Manuel’s Departure and Investigation Findings
Warde Manuel will step down from his role as the University of Michigan athletic director at the close of the current calendar year. This announcement was made by university officials on Monday, July 20, who also confirmed that a search for his successor will commence. Michigan President Domenico Grasso stated that he has asked Manuel to remain until the end of the year and to serve as a special advisor to the president, assisting in the implementation of reforms.
The decision follows a period marked by lawsuits and investigations, including an inquiry conducted by Jenner & Block. This firm was initially engaged after the termination of former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore due to an alleged “inappropriate relationship” with his executive assistant, Paige Shiver. The investigation later expanded to encompass a broader review of the athletic department’s culture.
On Monday, Michigan released a summary of the findings from the Jenner & Block investigation, accompanied by a message from President Grasso. No official documents from the investigation were publicly released beyond this summary. The summary noted that while Warde Manuel demonstrated leadership strengths, particularly his dedication to student-athletes, it also identified failures in addressing allegations of wrongdoing by athletic department employees promptly and effectively.
Challenges During Manuel’s Tenure
Moore’s firing appears to have been a significant event amidst various issues that have affected the athletic department under Manuel’s leadership in recent years. These issues include Shiver’s lawsuit against the university, alleging the concealment of public records, and a lawsuit filed by former linebackers coach Chris Partridge against the board of regents, Manuel, former president Santa Ono, and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti.
The lawsuit brought by Partridge claims that the school’s former president actively worked to hide details regarding the football team’s sign-stealing scandal. It also alleges that athletic department leaders were aware of Moore’s relationship with a staff member years before his dismissal. Regarding Moore’s firing, the summary report indicated that no single employee was directly at fault, but highlighted several areas requiring change.
President Grasso noted that while decisive action was taken in terminating Coach Moore, investigators did not identify any current employee with direct, contemporaneous evidence of the relationship. However, the broader culture review revealed serious concerns, including failures in accountability, structural deficiencies, weaknesses in reporting and support systems, and issues related to retaliation.
Manuel, who is 58, played as a defensive lineman for Michigan in the 1980s under coach Bo Schembechler. He was the 12th athletic director in the school’s history. His original contract, signed on January 29, 2016, was extended in February 2021 to run through June 30, 2026. He later signed a five-year contract extension in December 2024, which included a $1.9 million base salary and $350,000 annually in deferred payments, extending his term through June 30, 2030.
During Manuel’s 11-year tenure, the athletic department experienced significant success, with teams winning national championships in football (2024), women’s gymnastics (2021), men’s gymnastics (2025), and basketball (2026). Concurrently, his time was also marked by various scandals, suspensions, and arrests across different programs.
The Wolverines were investigated twice by the NCAA during coach Jim Harbaugh’s tenure. In 2023, U-M suspended Harbaugh for three games for violating recruiting protocols during the 2020 COVID-19 dead period. The NCAA found impermissible in-person recruiting contacts and an excessive number of coaches participating in activities. As a result, U-M was placed on probation for three seasons, and Harbaugh received a four-year show-cause penalty, while staffers Steve Clinkscale and Jesse Minter received two-year and one-year show-causes, respectively.
In August 2025, the NCAA ruled on U-M’s sign-stealing incident from 2023. Michigan was placed on probation for four years, extending through April 10, 2031, after former staffer Connor Stalions allegedly orchestrated a scheme to steal opponents’ signs. Manuel confirmed that the university was ordered to pay fines exceeding $30 million, faced a 14-week prohibition on recruiting communications in the football program, and a 25% reduction in football official visits during 2025. Four staffers, including Harbaugh (10 years), Stalions (eight years), Denard Robinson (three years), and Moore (two years), were given show-cause penalties.
The NCAA stated that the conduct of those involved ranged from destroying materials to providing false information during interviews, with Stalions instructing an intern to delete emails, photos, texts, and videos related to the scouting scheme. The intern complied and further instructed a friend, who attended and recorded games as part of the scheme, to do the same. Stalions later stated he did not recall telling them to delete any information.
Since 2020, Michigan has secured over 50 Big Ten championships across its sports. However, during this period, there have been numerous issues within three of the four primary programs. Manuel hired three high-profile coaches who were later fired: Moore, basketball coach Juwan Howard, and hockey coach Mel Pearson. Moore and Pearson were both involved in scandals that led to their dismissals. Howard was suspended for five games in 2022 after an altercation with an opposing coach and concluded his tenure with the program’s worst single-season record in 2023-24.
Additionally, Manuel faced scrutiny for not securing extensions for Harbaugh and former basketball coach Dusty May following their national title seasons, as both subsequently moved to the NFL and NBA, respectively. In 2020, basketball player Zavier Simpson crashed a car registered to Manuel’s wife, which also garnered headlines.
Looking Ahead
President Grasso will initiate a national search for the next athletic director. The university’s regents reportedly discussed the investigation and Manuel’s future during a review on July 16.
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Source: eu.freep.com
