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In 10 years under athletic director Warde Manuel, the Michigan Wolverines won national championships in college football and men's college basketball, but numerous scandals overshadowed the athletic success.
On Monday, the Big Ten powerhouse confirmed Manuel is set to step down from his role "at the end of the calendar year." This comes after Chicago-based law firm Jenner & Block conducted a $12M investigation into the Wolverines athletic department.
Michigan released a statement rather than making the probe's findings public.
The school noted there wasn't "widespread" misconduct, but Manuel has often failed to hold employees accountable throughout his tenure.
"The culture review found that Warde Manuel demonstrated important leadership strengths, particularly his commitment to student-athletes," the statement said.
"At the same time, it identified failures to quickly and effectively act on allegations of wrongdoing by Athletic Department employees." Breaking: Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel will step down at the end of the calendar year, the school announced.
pic.twitter.com/VFwBg9gPL1 ESPN (@espn) July 20, 2026 Michigan fired former head coach Sherrone Moore in December 2025 after an internal investigation revealed that he and former staffer Paige Shiver had an inappropriate relationship.
The AD, however, reportedly knew about it well before it came to light.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Manuel asked Moore to stop letting Shiver accompany him on road trips days before the 2024 season began.
The NCAA began investigating former Michigan staffer Conor Stalions and his elaborate sign-stealing system in October 2023.
An amended federal lawsuit filed by former Wolverines linebacker coach Chris Partridge alleged that Manuel and former Michigan president Santa Ono uncovered evidence of the Stalions scheme in January 2023.
The lawsuit claims Manuel and Ono discovered it while investigating former Michigan offensive coordinator Matt Weiss, who was fired in January 2023.
Weiss was indicted in March 2025 on multiple counts of unauthorized computer access and aggravated identity theft after being "accused of hacking the email, social media and cloud storage accounts of thousands of female athletes from across the country and downloading their intimate photos and videos," via ABC News.
The Moore, Stalions and Weiss scandals were among many that have stained Michigan's image.
Now, the school is parting ways with Manuel.
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