Michigan spends $12 million on audit, AD Manuel to exit by year-end
The University of Michigan Board of Regents approved a $12 million external audit of the athletics department and later announced that athletic director Warde Manuel will leave his post at the end of the year. Earlier, the regents said they would review a $11 million investigation into the department’s culture and consider Manuel’s future, according to ESPN. University officials later reported that Manuel told them he would continue as athletic director while the probe proceeded, as noted by The Detroit News.
A Wall Street Journal investigation cited by Maize n Brew revealed that Manuel had received multiple warnings about head coach Sherrone Moore’s relationship with Paige Shiver more than a year before Moore’s dismissal, and that the university’s response was deemed insufficient. The university paid more than $12 million to law firm Jenner & Block for the review, and declined FOIA requests for the report, citing attorney-client privilege, according to the Detroit Free Press. The external review concluded that misconduct was not widespread, and the university announced Manuel’s departure, with the New York Times reporting he will step down by year-end and serve as a special advisor, as also reported by The Detroit News.
