Michigan AD Warde Manuel to Step Down After Probe

Sport

By lines

July 20, 2026

Warde Manuel is on his way out at Michigan. The school’s president confirmed Monday that Warde Manuel will step down as athletic director by the end of 2026. A blistering culture review sealed the decision. The decision caps months of scrutiny over the athletic department.

A Culture Review Ends an 11-Year Run

Michigan president Domenico Grasso announced the move Monday morning. Warde Manuel will leave the athletic director post but stay on as a special advisor to Grasso. The change follows the December firing of football coach Sherrone Moore. Michigan fired Sherrone Moore over an inappropriate relationship with an executive assistant. Manuel had promoted Moore to head coach only in early 2024.

Manuel led the Michigan athletic department for 11 years after taking over in 2016. Independent law firm Jenner and Block ran the culture review that shaped Monday’s outcome. The report credited Manuel with leadership strengths and a commitment to student-athletes. The same report flagged failures to act quickly on allegations of employee wrongdoing. Michigan did not disclose the financial terms of Manuel’s buyout.

Manuel’s tenure mixed banners with turmoil. Michigan won the College Football Playoff national championship in January 2024 under Manuel’s watch. That title run later drew an NCAA sign-stealing investigation into the football program. Manuel also managed the exit of coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL after that championship. Two head coaches have now left under a cloud since that title. The Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for three games during that 2023 sign-stealing case.

The reversal came fast for Manuel. Manuel had insisted on July 13 that a departure was not coming. Within a week, Manuel agreed to a buyout and a step-down date. The quick pivot signaled how much weight the culture report carried inside the administration.

The departure resets power inside one of college sports’ biggest brands. Michigan must now hire a new athletic director during a turbulent stretch for the department. Grasso will lean on Manuel as a special advisor through the transition. The timing lands weeks before the 2026 college football season kicks off. Michigan competes in the Big Ten and ranks among the nation’s richest athletic departments.

Attention now turns to Michigan’s next hire. Grasso must steady a department rocked by scandal since the 2023 season. Manuel will shift into the special advisor role at the end of 2026. The next athletic director inherits Michigan football just before a pivotal Week 1. Michigan last changed athletic directors in 2016, when Manuel arrived.