Warde Manuel To Be Named Michigan's Next Athletic Director
Former Michigan player and assistant athletic director and current UConn Athletic Director Warde Manuel will be named U-M's next athletic director, TheWolverine.com has confirmed. A report from former Boston Globe writer Mark Blauschun this morning indicated contract details are being finalized and that an announcement could come as soon as this week.
TheWolverine.com first reported a search firm had been hired to replace interim A.D. Jim Hackett. Manuel will be the 13th athletic director in the school's history and has a decade of Division I experience as an athletic director, first at Buffalo and then Connecticut (starting in 2012). He was named a national A.D. of the year in 2014.
Hackett told reporters last week he would work with the new A.D. to ease the transition. Search Firm Turnkey Sports and Entertainment worked with an advisory committee comprised of U-M president Mark Schlissel, Hackett, softball coach Carol Hutchins, women’s soccer co-captain Corinne Harris, special counsel Liz Barry, faculty athletics representative Anne Curzan, U-M executive vice president and chief financial officer Kevin Hegarty and former U-M football player Stefan Humphries to find the right fit.
Under his management, the Hartford Courant reports, "UConn raised the necessary funds to build what is now known as the Werth Family Champions Center, a $35 million training facility for men's and women's basketball. The men's basketball program, which was ineligible for the 2013 postseason because of poor Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, has since rebounded with perfect scores the past two years."
The women's basketball program continued to excel under legendary coach Geno Auriemma, For his Connecticut success, he was named one of three Athletic Directors of the Year by Under Armour for 2014-15. Auriema told the Courant Manuel was outstanding at UConn.
"My professional relationship with Warde is as good, if not better, than any AD [he's worked for]," he said. "And my personal relationship with him is better than any relationship I've ever had with any AD [at UConn].
"He's done a phenomenal job with the coaches, in terms of where we were and where we are right now ... when you are that good at what you do, people notice, whether it's Michigan or elsewhere. His name always going to be in the news. And we [UConn] should hope it is. If we have an AD or a coach that nobody wants, then maybe we should be thinking that they aren't that good.
"Everyone has to do what's in their best interest for their family, themselves, their future and career. People that are happy Warde is our AD should be happy if he stays and happy if he goes. I enjoy his company and what he's meant to our program."
Watch for more on this development in the hours and days to come.