The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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74 THE WOLVERINE ❱ AUGUST 2026 O n July 16, following a meeting with U-M Re- gents in Traverse City, Mich., a reporter from MLive.com put Domenico Grasso on the spot. Asked if he still considered Warde Manuel the "best athletic director in the country" as Grasso praised just a few months earlier at basket- ball's national championship cel- ebration, the Michigan President doubled down … Sort of. "He's one of the best athletic directors in the country," Grasso said amid reports that Manuel was negotiating a potential buyout with the school and wouldn't be around much longer. Four days later, news broke that Manuel would step down from his position, effective at the end of the year. In return, Michigan will give him a one-time payment of $7,143,346 (minus taxes) within 21 days of his resignation, an additional retirement contribution of $108,000, and more. No matter how it's portrayed anywhere else, U-M is essentially paying him to go away, offering one hell of a golden parachute. Between that, the $12 million spent on an investigation from Chicago law firm Jenner & Block that got us to this point, an estimated $20 million fine from the NCAA over the "Signgate" fiasco in- volving former staffer Connor Stalions, and several other legal expenses, it's been a pricey few years for Michigan athletics. Some, if not many, will insist it's a small fee for success … and yeah, there's been some. National titles in the two ma- jor sports in four years, high graduation rates, and overall success in the depart- ment are what Manuel will hang his hat on when he departs, and that will be part of his legacy. But the biggest cost to those who still care about these things is the hit to Michigan's reputation. "Leaders and Best" used to be a rallying cry for win- ning the right way, even if it meant com- ing up just short of elite. Lately, it's too often been a punch line. That will be part of Manuel's legacy, as well. "We've fallen in being moral and ethi- cal on and off the field," Regent Paul Brown added while calling the Jenner & Block findings a disaster. "There was death by a thousand cuts … a lot of little things that may not have been done as thoroughly or as best followed practices as could have." In some ways, he added, "it would have been easier if it was one glar- ing thing" — and by that, we assume he meant easier to make a decision on Manuel's future. To many, though, it was one that should have been made long ago. And while some have chastised "leakers" in the administration or the athletic de- partment as some sort of cancer or "fac- tion," they should probably be thanking them for bringing issues to light others preferred to keep secret. When specific media is running cover for the disgraced football coach or try- ing to minimize every false step, only to have them exposed anyway, you've lost sight of what Michigan brags to stand for. Fair or not, the conclusion of the Jenner & Block report that Manuel "failed to quickly and effectively act on allegations of wrongdoing by athletic department employees" smacks of looking out for the best interest of something other than the department. "Don't let things be a crutch or a shield to hide behind when some- thing's obvious and you need to do the right thing" is how Brown framed it. And while it's impos- sible to know everything going on with every employee in an athletic department this large, there were things we and others knew that the higher-ups either should have known or didn't dig hard enough to uncover. Had a few not stepped up the morning of Dec. 10, in fact, Sher- rone Moore's tenure might have continued. But … we move on. Soon, Michi- gan will have a new president and athletic director to go with its new foot- ball and men's basketball coaches, a fresh start for the department. As defensive coordinator Jay Hill told us in an exclusive this summer, "I think Kyle Whittingham is exactly what the program needed" to help regain the respect lost the last sev- eral years, even if much of it (other than the Moore fiasco) was overblown. As for those concerned Whittingham is anything but full speed ahead in the wake of the Manuel news, he offered this July 27 at the Champions Circle golf out- ing: "It's college football," he said. "People come and go. I'm grateful to Warde — he gave me the opportunity to coach this program, and we will have the oppor- tunity to spend this season together, so that's a positive — but that's the nature of the business. You've just got to block everything out, minimize distractions and just stay focused." And restore honor to the program on and off the field. We have a feeling that faction who remembers what that really meant will be pleased with what they see going forward. ❑ Athletic director Warde Manuel's buyout includes a lump sum of $7.1 million (minus taxes) plus retirement benefits and legal fee payments. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Chris Balas has been with The Wolverine since 1997. Contact him at cbalas@ thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @Balas _ Wolverine. INSIDE MICHIGAN ❱ CHRIS BALAS A Needed Reset