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Michigan AD Warde Manuel to step down at end of calendar year
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Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel is stepping down at the end of the calendar year amid an outside investigation into the athletics department, the school announced on Monday morning.
The school also announced on Monday that a search for Manuel’s replacement will be conducted.
Manuel’s exit following the 2026-27 calendar year will occur amid that investigation into the overall culture of the Wolverines’ athletic department, Michigan announced.
The 58-year-old Manuel has served as the 12th athletic director in the history of Michigan, the school that Manuel attended and the place where Manuel played football as a defensive tackle from 1986-89. But Manuel’s tenure that began in January 2016 has been filled with controversy, capped by the dismissal last December of head football coach Sherrone Moore for his role in having an impermissible relationship with a Michigan staffer and lying about his relationship.
The outside probe into Manuel began in the wake of the Moore scandal. Manuel was the focus of the investigation that also covered the entire department that has dealt with a series of scandals since Manuel began his tenure a decade ago.
Michigan’s Jenner & Block investigation into Manuel released this statement in the wake of Monday’s announcement:
“The culture review found that weaknesses in accountability, organizational structure, oversight, and reporting created conditions in which misconduct was not always addressed consistently, promptly, or in accordance with University expectations.”
In addition to the Moore scandal, Manuel’s tenure also included the sign-stealing scandal under former head football coach Jim Harbaugh that threatened to overshadow Michigan’s run to the 2023 national championship. Harbaugh was also suspended for 3 games during that same season for recruiting violations.
Another scandal under Manuel’s watch included former Michigan hockey coach Mel Pearson being dismissed in 2022 after an investigation found there to be a “toxic work environment.”
Former Michigan men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard was also suspended in 2022 for hitting a Wisconsin assistant coach during a Wolverines-Badgers game.
Manuel’s 5-year extension that he was given in December 2024 carried a base salary of $1.9 million and was set to expire in 2030.