Michigan regents leave Warde Manuel’s future unresolved after meeting
Michigan’s board did not address athletic director Warde Manuel’s status or an internal athletics probe at its Thursday meeting, ESPN reported.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
3 min read
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel’s future stayed parked in limbo Thursday after the university’s board of regents did not discuss his status during a meeting in Traverse City, Michigan, according to ESPN.
The board also did not take up any part of an internal investigation into the athletic department, ESPN reported, after a week of attention around whether Manuel could leave the job he has held for more than a decade.
A source told ESPN there is no current timetable for deciding Manuel’s future. The same source said there is also no schedule for releasing any portion, if any, of a nearly $12 million review of the athletic department’s “culture” conducted by the Chicago law firm Jenner & Block.
Regent Paul Brown told MLive.com that he expected at least part of the report to become public, saying the findings and recommended steps should be released.
Brown also told the outlet the report did not contain a “major smoking gun.” He described the problems as a collection of smaller failures, saying some practices may not have been handled as thoroughly as they should have been.
What that means for Manuel remains unclear. ESPN reported that Manuel, 58, has overseen a department that has won multiple national championships, including football in 2023 and men’s basketball in 2026, while also being hit by legal and NCAA controversies.
A department under a microscope
Those controversies include NCAA violations tied to former football coach Jim Harbaugh, which led to a three-game suspension at the start of the 2023 season, according to ESPN.
Michigan was also involved in the so-called sign-stealing case connected to former staffer Connor Stalions. ESPN reported that the Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for three additional games in 2023 in that matter, and the NCAA later issued a fine against the school that could reach more than $30 million.
Former offensive coordinator Matt Weiss was indicted in 2024 on federal felony charges of aggravated identity theft and unauthorized access to computers, according to ESPN. Weiss has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in September.
ESPN also reported on the case involving former head coach Sherrone Moore, who replaced Harbaugh in 2024 and was fired in December 2025 over an inappropriate relationship with staff member Paige Shiver.
After Manuel dismissed him, Moore drove to Shiver’s residence and confronted her, according to ESPN. Moore was arrested and jailed, then agreed to a plea deal on misdemeanor counts of trespassing and malicious use of a telecommunications device.
Following Moore’s firing, Michigan ordered the independent review of the athletic department, ESPN reported.
ESPN said Manuel has not been directly implicated in those matters or other issues. Still, the number of controversies and the departures of many of the people involved have brought new attention to his own position.
Manuel’s contract runs through 2030 and pays nearly $2.4 million annually, according to ESPN. He did not deny to reporters this week that he had discussed a buyout with interim university president Domenico Grasso, but he said he intended to remain in the job.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.