Warde Manuel stepping down as Michigan athletic director

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel will step down at the end of the calendar year, the school announced in a statement today. Manuel, the Wolverines’ A.D. since 2016, has been under scrutiny for several months for incidents on his watch. Though there have been reports that Michigan is set to release details of the internal investigation into the Sherrone Moore situation, the school said it has no plans to. Per the Detroit News, the university “does not have any additional public statements planned regarding these matters, nor does the university plan to release any associated documents,” per spokesman Paul Corliss. “We can confirm, however, that Director of Athletics Warde Manuel will step down at the end of the calendar year and a search for a new AD will be conducted.” Manuel has overseen national championships in football and basketball in the last three years, but he’s been at the head of the department for the signal-stealing incident involving staffer Connor Stalions, the federal indictment of former assistant football coach Matt Weiss, and coach Sherrone Moore’s firing and arrest in December. Per the Wall Street Journal, a Jenner and Block investigation concluded “compliance issues at Michigan, including its failure to implement certain recommendations from a prior sexual misconduct review. It found that a Michigan athletics compliance officer reported to Manuel, not to the university’s office of general counsel … coincidentally, general counsel Timothy Lynch just left to become general counsel at Stanford University.” The WSJ reported Stanford didn’t respond to a request for comment on behalf of Lynch. Among the other findings were details many around the program allegedly already knew, but the A.D. denied knowledge of. Moore and staffer Paige Shiver’s physical relationship began in 2022 after which Shiver had an abortion. Allegations of an inappropriate relationship began in 2024, and WSJ reported, “the university was also aware of Moore’s online interactions with a donor’s wife who posted provocative photos on her Instagram account, the firm found.” The firm concluded that the school’s response was insufficient and that it wasn’t clear who was handling allegations of wrongdoing. In addition, the firm concluded that “the school’s response was insufficient, and that it wasn’t clear who was handling allegations of wrongdoing.” In August 2025, the NCAA announced financial penalties against Michigan, expected to exceed $20 million, related to Stalions. Manuel fired Moore in December after the school learned of an inappropriate relationship he had with a football staff member. Per the release, “The culture review found that the Department of Athletics has many significant strengths, including a strong commitment to student-athlete success, competitive excellence, and academic achievement that includes a 96% student-athlete graduation rate. In addition, staff members spoke highly of the department’s workplace culture and 87% of employees who departed the University said they would recommend working there. At the same time, the culture review identified three overarching areas for improvement: Leadership accountability: Ensuring leadership at all levels consistently follows through when misconduct is identified. Organizational structure: Addressing weaknesses in investigations, human resources, compliance, and oversight. Reporting culture: Reducing barriers to reporting concerns and fostering an environment where employees and student-athletes feel comfortable raising issues. Watch for more on these developments in the hours and days to come. A link to the findings can be found here: Jenner and Block report