Updated

Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jul 21

Michigan AD Warde Manuel to Step Down After 11 Years as Probe Finds Accountability Weaknesses

Updated

Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jul 21

Michigan AD Warde Manuel to Step Down After 11 Years as Probe Finds Accountability Weaknesses

Q: Did Michigan’s leaders know about the sign-stealing scandal a full year before it was exposed?

There is no confirmed evidence that Michigan’s leaders knew a full year before the sign-stealing scandal became public. The strongest claim is an allegation in former assistant coach Chris Partridge’s lawsuit, which says then-President Santa Ono and athletic director Warde Manuel learned of evidence tied to the scheme in January 2023. That matters because the scandal was publicly exposed in October 2023, when the NCAA investigation became known. If Partridge’s account is accurate, that would put leadership knowledge roughly nine months before public exposure, not a full year. Partridge alleges the evidence surfaced during the investigation into former assistant Matt Weiss’s devices and that a private law firm later presented findings to top university officials. He further claims Ono told attendees not to take notes or discuss the presentation, suggesting a cover-up. But those are still allegations in active litigation, not established facts. What is established is that Michigan was later hit with major NCAA penalties in August 2025 over the Connor Stalions-led sign-stealing operation, and that the broader Jenner & Block review found failures in accountability and in responding effectively to wrongdoing inside the athletic department. So the best-supported answer is that Michigan leaders are accused of knowing months before the scandal broke publicly, but the public record does not prove they knew a full year in advance.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jul 21

Michigan said Warde Manuel will leave the athletic director post at the end of 2026 and then stay on as a special adviser to President Domenico Grasso.
Jenner & Block’s culture review found weaknesses in accountability, oversight, reporting and organizational structure that let misconduct go unaddressed consistently or promptly.
The football program drew specific criticism, with the firm saying existing oversight was ineffective and recommending clearer responsibilities, stronger leadership supervision and better compliance processes.
Sherrone Moore’s firing over an inappropriate relationship with a staffer helped trigger the broader review, which came after multiple scandals under Manuel’s tenure.
Michigan now faces another leadership reset, with a new athletic director joining recent turnover that has already left the school seeking new football and basketball leadership within little more than a year.