Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel is stepping down at the end of 2026, following the release of the report of an investigation into the athletic department.
There was no smoking gun per say, but the report did say this about whether there widespread misconduct throughout the Michigan athletic department.
"No. Neither the investigation nor the culture review found that misconduct was widespread throughout the department. The culture review found that weaknesses in accountability, organizational structure, oversight, and reporting created conditions in which misconduct was not always addressed consistently, promptly, or in accordance with University expectations."
Despite that, Manuel will step down at the end of the year, allowing time for Michigan to conduct a national search to find his replacement. The reaction is mixed. Rivals are acting like they won the Super Bowl for some reason, because in their warped minds, Manuel stepping down in 2026 somehow taints the 2023 National Championship.
Of course, this report has nothing to do with the NCAA. There are no more sanctions coming. The sign and cheeseburger investigations are closed. Punishments have been handed out.
Even so, Dave Portnoy wants an athletic director willing to stand up to the NCAA, so while some Michigan fans applauded this as the right move, the Michigan superfan didn't necessarily agree.
Dave Portnoy defends Michigan AD Warde Manuel
I cannot believe that @BFW tried to say with a straight face that “contacting a recruit outside the recruiting window” was some massive violation by Michigan pic.twitter.com/DFUvtx3ud0
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) July 20, 2026
"The NCAA is the most corrupt organization in the world, I think we all know that," Portnoy said on Wake Up Barstool. "So when they come in, with their microscope, and start looking around because Ryan Day and Ohio State can't beat you, I want the AD and the president to say, 'No. We are defending our guys.' So if it comes out, Warde Manuel was not super compliant with the criminal organization that is the NCAA, that's fine."
Manuel was the athletic director for the Michigan football national championship in 2023, as well as the men's basketball title the Wolverines just won in April. Reports started surfacing last week that Maneul would be given a buyout at last week's Board of Regents Meeting.
However, it wasn't announced until Monday that he would be stepping down. It's not immediate, though. He will step down at the end of December.
It remains to be seen in the full report into the athletic department ever becomes available, but there obviously wasn't a fireable offense in there. However, it has been a pattern of scandal that the university wants to move on from, although Portnoy warns that Manuel is exactly the kind of athletic director that Michigan needs, or at least one willing to defend the Wolverines against NCAA overreach.
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