Warde Manuel exit leaves Michigan hunting for a steadier hand
Michigan says its athletic director will step down after a culture review found delays in handling misconduct allegations.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Michigan is heading into another leadership search after announcing that athletic director Warde Manuel will leave his post at the end of the year following an outside review of the athletic department’s culture.
The university said Manuel will remain as an adviser to the president during the transition, according to CBS Sports. Michigan’s announcement credited him with leadership strengths, especially in his support of student-athletes, while also saying the review found the department failed to move quickly and effectively on allegations of employee wrongdoing.
CBS Sports did not report a public comment from Manuel in its account of the announcement.
Winning came with turbulence
Manuel’s time in Ann Arbor brought some of the biggest competitive highs in Michigan athletics. CBS Sports noted that the Wolverines won the 2024 football national championship, their first outright title in the sport since 1948.
Two years later, Dusty May led Michigan men’s basketball to a national championship, making the school only the second program in the 21st century to win national titles in both football and men’s basketball, according to CBS Sports. The outlet also reported progress by Michigan men’s hockey, women’s basketball and gymnastics toward top-tier status.
The success, though, arrived alongside a string of off-field problems. CBS Sports pointed to two NCAA matters tied to former football coach Jim Harbaugh: one involving improper recruiting during the pandemic and another involving alleged sign-stealing.
The report also cited an improper relationship involving former football coach Sherrone Moore and a staffer that led to a violent confrontation and an arrest. Former co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss was fired and later arrested after illegally accessing private student photos and data, according to CBS Sports.
More change at the top
Michigan’s athletic department has also been reshaped by recent coaching churn. CBS Sports reported that Manuel had to replace both Moore in football and May in men’s basketball after May departed for the NBA.
The school turned to short-term answers, according to the report: 66-year-old Kyle Whittingham for football and assistant Mike Boynton for men’s basketball. CBS Sports said Boynton’s deal runs two years and requires him to reach 24 wins and finish in the top four of the Big Ten to earn a renewal.
There has been upheaval beyond athletics, too. CBS Sports reported that Michigan lost university president Santa Ono in 2025. Syracuse’s Kent Syverud was selected as a successor but did not take the job after a cancer diagnosis. Interim president Domenico Grasso was promoted to the permanent role in May, while the school continues a search for its next president because Grasso is in his 70s, according to the report.
Michigan’s next athletic director will inherit a powerhouse brand with recent championships, Big Ten stature and a name-image-likeness operation that CBS Sports described as a major advantage. The same person will also inherit the job of restoring confidence after the culture review and years of headline-grabbing disruption.
CBS Sports framed the coming hire as one of the most important in Michigan athletic department history, noting that other major programs have recently gone after sitting athletic directors from rival power schools, including Ohio State hiring Ross Bjork from Texas A&M, Texas A&M bringing in Trev Alberts from Nebraska, Nebraska hiring Troy Dannen from Washington and Miami landing Dan Radakovich from Clemson.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS Sports.