Warde Manuel will reportedly get a $7 million buyout at the University of Michigan after agreeing to step down in the wake of several scandals.
After obtaining a copy of the agreement, the Detroit News and Front Office Sports are reporting that Manuel is getting other perks in addition to the payout, and his personnel file will reflect that he stepped down voluntarily.
Manuel was set to be paid about $2.4 million annually on a contract that ran through 2030.
The Daily Mail has sought comment from athletic department spokesmen.
Manuel will stay on with the school for the remainder of the calendar year, which means he will still be in Ann Arbor as first-year Wolverines football coach Kyle Whittingham replaces fired Sherrone Moore this fall.
Moore, a married father-of-three, lost his job as head football coach due to an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a staffer who was later identified as his assistant, Paige Shiver. Moore was arrested a few dramatic hours later near the woman’s apartment and has since been given probation after pleading guilty to trespassing and malicious use of a telecommunications device.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel will keep his job through the rest of the calendar year
An investigation was launched after football head coach Sherrone Moore was accused of an affair with staffer Paige Shiver, who served as his executive assistant at the time
Following the shocking events, the school launched an independent investigation into the practices and culture of its athletics department, conducted by Chicago-based law firm Jenner & Block. And earlier this month, the University of Michigan announced that Manuel would be stepping down from his role as director of the athletics department before 2027.
The 58-year-old has led the Wolverines since 2016, heading up a department with an annual budget of about $250 million, 29 teams, 950-plus athletes and about 400 staff members – overseeing the NCAA powerhouse’s numerous successes in that time.
His tenure was marked by multiple national championships – including both the men’s football and basketball – but also numerous scandals with the controversial events of last December proving to be the final nail in the coffin.
‘Neither the investigation nor the culture review found that misconduct was widespread throughout the department,’ a summary of the investigation stated.
‘The culture review found that weaknesses in accountability, organizational structure, oversight, and reporting created conditions in which misconduct was not always addressed consistently, promptly, or in accordance with University expectations.’
The review, which has reportedly cost $12 million, added: ‘Manuel demonstrated important leadership strengths, particularly his commitment to student-athletes. At the same time, it identified failures to quickly and effectively act on allegations of wrongdoing by Athletic Department employees.’
Moore was arrested over an alleged assault after allegedly barging into Shiver’s home
Jenner & Block interviewed nearly 300 witnesses across 350 interviews over the course of their probe. The firm interviewed a wide range of witnesses, including coaches, athletics staff, student-athletes, University leaders, human resources personnel, and other stakeholders.
They also followed more than 90 leads from a hotline they established to gather information and reviewed more than 20,000 records.
Moore was accused of confronting staffer Paige Shiver, with whom he had been having an affair, and blaming her for his firing. Authorities said she had previously ended the affair and spoken to school officials about it.
The coach was accused of barging his way through Shiver’s door, grabbing butter knives and scissors before threatening to kill himself. The 40-year-old father of three was arrested and charged with home invasion and stalking as well as breaking and entering.
Moore has been married to his wife, Kelli, since 2015. They have three daughters together
Moore pleaded no contest to trespassing and malicious use of a telecom device and was placed on probation in April for 18 months.
It wasn’t the first scandal to rock the school’s athletic department in recent years – albeit it was the most shocking.
In March 2025, former offensive coordinator Matt Weiss was charged with hacking and accused by federal prosecutors of stealing thousands of private, intimate images of student-athletes. Weiss pleaded not guilty to all 24 charges.
In 2018, Michigan’s ex-director of performance science, Fergus Connolly, was arrested for DUI – but was also hit with multiple counts of assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer.
After being transported to a hospital, Connolly allegedly attempted to bite someone. He later pleaded no contest to five of the nine misdemeanor charges against him, with prosecutors dropping other counts.
In 2023, Glenn ‘Shemy’ Schembechler – the son of longtime Michigan coach Bo Schembechler – resigned three days after he was hired following social media activity that was deemed to be concerning and harmful by the school.
Then-Michigan men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard appeared to throw a punch at a Wisconsin assistant after arguing with head coach Greg Gard following a 2022 game
Michigan was also hit with NCAA sanctions over the sign-stealing scheme orchestrated by former football staffer Connor Stalions.
There were also allegations of physical and verbal abuse against now-former Michigan basketball coach, Juwan Howard, including one incident in which he slapped an assistant coach on an opposing team during post-game handshakes.
However, Michigan has also seen a lot of success under Manuel’s tenure. The football team won the national championship in January 2024 under then-head coach Jim Harbaugh, who subsequently left the program to join the Los Angeles Chargers.
And in addition to five Frozen Four appearances for the men’s hockey team since 2018, Michigan also won its second national championship in basketball back in April under coach Dusty May, who has since been hired by the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.
