Warde Manuel has been Michigan's athletic director for just over a decade and, in that time, the former Wolverine defensive tackle who played under legendary coach Bo Schembechler from 1986 to 1989 has overseen an unprecedented combination of highs and lows.
Manuel's stint at the top of Michigan's athletic department has included four national championships (including one in football and men's basketball) while also being ridded with controversies and incidents that span from NCAA violations to the arrest and departure of football coach Sherrone Moore.
Manuel, 58, who was the athletic director at Buffalo and UConn before landing at Michigan, has never been cited for being involved in any of the scandals. But with the news that the University of Michigan's regents are expected to discuss an investigation into the culture of its athletic department Thursday and will be looking at Manuel's future as part of the review, here's a timeline of the major events during Manuel's complicated time in Ann Arbor.
August 2017: Grant Perry's arrest and suspension
Manuel was hired by Michigan in January of 2016 and was faced with a decision just eight months into his tenure. Wide receiver Grant Perry had pled guilty to one charge of resisting a police officer and one charge of assault and battery as a way to eliminate multiple sexual assault allegations stemming from an incident in 2015 when he was accused of grabbing a woman's backside and groin while arguing with her and then running from police officers.
Perry, who was sentenced to 12 months' probation, was suspended from the team for two games in the fall and then once again for the bowl game and spring practice. Once the legal process concluded, the university conducted its own internal review and decided to reinstate him. Then-coach Jim Harbaugh said the decision to reinstate Perry was made by Manuel.
January 2019: Hiring of ex-USA Gymnastics executive Rhonda Faehn
Less than a year after USA Gymnastics parted ways with Faehn because she came under fire from survivors of former national team doctor Larry Nassar's abuse while she oversaw the women's elite team, Manuel hired her as a consultant for the Wolverines' gymnastics team in early 2019.
The hiring was short-lived. Despite Manuel's claim that Michigan did "exhaustive due diligence" before deciding that Faehn was not responsible for the way she handled the allegations against Nassar in 2015, there was backlash from alumni and survivors about the hire.
Manuel reversed his decision just a day after hiring Faehn and took responsibility. "It was the wrong decision, and I apologize," Manuel said at the time.
May 2019: Men's basketball coach John Beilein leaves for the NBA; Juwan Howard hired
After 12 seasons in Ann Arbor and a year after signing a new deal that paid him more than $3 million per year, Beilein left his job with the Wolverines to take the head coaching job with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Manuel quickly made the hire for Beilein's replacement, tabbing former Fab Five member Juwan Howard to be the program's head coach.
April 2021: Michigan wins its first women's gymnastics national championship
February 2022: Juwan Howard's suspension
Manuel's hire of Howard appeared to be a success. Howard led the Wolverines to their first Big Ten title in seven years during the 2020-21 season, won multiple Coach of the Year awards and earned the program a top seed in the 2021 NCAA tournament. In November of that year, Manuel signed Howard to a five-year extension that ran through the 2025-26 season.
But in February 2022, Howard was involved in a postgame incident in which he hit Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft in the face after he grabbed his arm. Howard was suspended for the remainder of the regular season and fined $40,000 for being in violation of the Big Ten conference's sportsmanship policy. He was allowed to return for the conference tournament and the NCAA tournament that year. Michigan was eliminated in the Sweet 16.
August 2022: Investigation into hockey program leads to Mel Pearson firing
Pearson was another coach hired by Manuel who saw his tenure cut short. An investigation into the program conducted by an outside law firm revealed that there had been a pattern of misconduct by Pearson, leading to his dismissal.
Among the issues the investigation revealed was that Pearson pressured student-athletes to lie about COVID-19 contact tracing during the 2020-21 season. It also revealed that there had been discrimination against women in the program, retaliation against former goaltender Strauss Mann and detailed harassment by both Pearson and director of hockey operations Rick Bancroft against sports information director Kristy McNeil, Director of Performance Nutrition Caroline Mandel, administrative assistant Lora Durkee.
January 2023: NCAA letter to Michigan regarding Harbaugh
In January, the NCAA sent Michigan a notice of allegations against Harbaugh for allegedly misleading NCAA enforcement staff who were looking into possible violations during a COVID-19 recruiting dead period.
January 2023: Matt Weiss investigation and firing
Later that same month, co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss (who was hired by Harbaugh in 2020) was put on leave and subsequently fired after he failed to show up to a meeting to discuss whether he gained access to computer accounts belonging to other people.
An athletic department official told Weiss that the university had evidence he had "inappropriately accessed" the accounts.
In March 2025, Weiss was indicted for allegedly stealing private videos and photos of more than 3,300 student-athletes -- mostly women -- from more than 100 universities across the country. Federal documents allege that Weiss hacked into the accounts to view and download personal or intimate photographs and videos and took notes commenting on the students' bodies and sexual preferences.
Weiss has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial in September 2026.
May 2023: Glenn 'Shemy' Schembechler hire and resignation
Three days after being hired as Michigan's assistant director of football recruiting in 2023, Glenn Schembechler resigned following scrutiny over offensive social media activity, including several posts suggesting slavery and Jim Crow had a positive effect on Black individuals and families.
A source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN that Schembechler went through a thorough background check during the hiring process.
August 2023: Michigan self-imposes a three-game suspension for Harbaugh
Michigan self-imposed a three-game suspension for football coach Jim Harbaugh to begin the 2023 season, stemming from alleged violations during the COVID-19 dead period.
The nature of the self-imposed suspension for Harbaugh was designed to soften the potential ruling from the NCAA. Harbaugh faced a Level I violation, which would be for not cooperating with or misleading NCAA investigators about the alleged violations.
October 2023: Connor Stalions sign-stealing controversy, Harbaugh suspension
In the middle of the 2023 season, the NCAA opened an investigation into Michigan as part of sign-stealing accusations for illegal in-person scouting that was spearheaded by defensive analyst Connor Stalions. Stalions resigned from his job shortly after the investigation became public and Harbaugh denied having any knowledge of the sign stealing.
As a result of the NCAA investigation, the Big Ten announced that it was handing Harbaugh a three-game suspension for the final three games of the regular season. This was on top of the three-game self-imposed suspension of Harbaugh to begin the season.
Manuel was at the center of the fight with the Big Ten over Harbaugh's three-game suspension. He called it "completely unethical" and "an assault on the rights" of everyone. Michigan abruptly reversed course on legal action and withdrew its lawsuit against the Big Ten five days later while Harbaugh went on to serve the suspension. He coached nine total games but was credited for 12 of the Wolverines' 15 wins.
January 2024: Michigan wins national championship, Harbaugh leaves for the NFL
Harbaugh led the Wolverines to a 34-13 victory over Washington that completed an undefeated season and gave Michigan its first national title in football since 1997.
Just over two weeks after the championship game, the Los Angeles Chargers announced they were hiring Harbaugh as their new head coach.
January 2024: Michigan promotes Sherrone Moore to head coach
Two days after Harbaugh's departure, Manuel did not hesitate and promoted Moore, the offensive coordinator under Harbaugh, to head coach. Harbaugh gave the decision a ringing endorsement saying Moore was the "only person" to lead the program.
March 2024: Michigan fires Juwan Howard
After back-to-back seasons of missing the NCAA tournament in 2023 and 2024 and another incident -- this time with strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson in 2023, an altercation for which Howard avoided any discipline -- Howard was fired.
April 2025: Michigan wins men's gymnastics national championship
Led by head coach Yuan Xiao, who was hired by Manuel in 2021, the Wolverines snapped Stanford's streak of five straight national titles and won the program's seventh title -- the first since 2014.
May 2025: Michigan announces self-imposed suspension of Moore for two games
The school, like it did with Harbaugh, tried to address the NCAA investigation into their program, and Moore's role, by self-imposing a two-game suspension for Moore. The NCAA would accept the self-imposed ban and would later add a third game that Moore would be suspended for during the 2026 season.
August 2025: NCAA releases findings and penalties on Michigan's football program
The NCAA released a 74-page "Public Infractions Decision" following their investigation into Michigan's sign-stealing scheme led by Stalions. In it, the NCAA stated that Harbaugh ran a program "that was largely dismissive of rules compliance" and found "there was little, if any, emphasis on following the rules."
The program was hit with a barrage of NCAA penalties, including an unprecedented fine that is expected to be more than $30 million, four years of probation for Michigan and a 10-year show cause order for Harbaugh.
December 2025: Sherrone Moore's firing and criminal charges
Michigan fired Moore on Dec. 10 for an "inappropriate relationship" with a staffer. He was arrested the same day and later charged with felony home invasion and two misdemeanors tied to the incident.
Moore's firing and subsequent arrest prompted an inquiry into the athletic department's culture, conduct, and procedures.
December 2025: Michigan hires Kyle Whittingham as head coach
April 2026: Michigan wins national championship in men's basketball
Two years after Manuel lured Florida Atlantic's Dusty May to Michigan in 2024 when other high-profile openings were available, May led the Wolverines to a 37-3 season and a national championship -- only the second in school history.
June 2026: Dusty May hired away by the Dallas Mavericks
Another Manuel-led hire that appeared to have been a stroke of genius hit an abrupt end. During the celebratory parade for the national title, Manuel announced that he and May had agreed to a deal to keep him at Michigan "for many years to come."
That deal, however, was never finalized. In June, May bolted for the NBA as the Dallas Mavericks hired him to be the franchise's next head coach.
July 2026: Investigation into Michigan's athletic department puts Manuel's future in doubt
The University of Michigan's regents are expected to discuss an investigation into the culture of its athletic department Thursday, sources told ESPN. As part of the review, a decision on Manuel's future is anticipated in the coming days.
A university spokesman told ESPN on Sunday that the school had nothing to report and declined further comment.