The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546004
18 THE WOLVERINE ❱ AUGUST 2026 BY CHRIS BALAS I n another tumultuous week for Michigan athletics, reports surfaced, and sources told The Wolverine the week of July 11 that Athletic Director Warde Manuel was negotiating a buyout amid rum- blings that more details of the Jenner and Block investigation into the depart- ment would be released. While U-M wasn't required to report its findings and was being criticized by several for not being more transparent, The Wall Street Journal documented details from the report on goings-on in the athletic department. Per the Journal, "The firm high- lighted compliance issues at Michi- gan, 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 univer- sity's office of general counsel … co- incidentally, general counsel Timothy Lynch just left to become general coun- sel at Stanford University." The WSJ reported Stanford didn't respond to a request for comment on behalf of Lynch. Among the other findings were de- tails many around the program alleg- edly already knew. Still, the A.D. de- nied knowledge of … that former head coach Sherrone Moore and staffer Paige Shiver began a physical relationship in 2022 after which Shiver had an abor- tion. Allegations of that inappropriate relationship began in 2024, and the 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 allega- tions of wrongdoing. "Neither the investigation nor the culture review found that misconduct was widespread throughout the de- partment," the report indicated. "The culture review found that weaknesses in accountability, organizational struc- ture, oversight, and reporting created conditions in which misconduct was not always addressed consistently, promptly, or in accordance with Uni- versity expectations." As such, on July 20, U-M spokesman Michigan athletics teams have won four national championships during Manuel's tenure — women's gymnastics (2021), football (2023), men's gym- nastics (2025) and men's basketball (2026) — but he also has presided over a department with a number of off-field situations that were damaging to the university's reputation. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN OUT AT HOME Michigan A.D. Warde Manuel Accepts Buyout, Will Step Down At Year's End