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Santa Ono, current present of the University of Michigan and the sole finalist for the same position at the University of Florida, talks during forum on May 6, 2025, at Emerson Alumni Hall in Gainesville. | Alan Youngblood/Special to The Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
There’s no mistaking the excellence that Michigan’s athletic programs have put together in recent memory.
In just the last three years, the school’s two biggest programs — football and men’s basketball — have won national championships. Michigan has also continued to excel in non-revenue sports, with hockey, gymnastics and women’s basketball, among others, competing with the nation’s best. Michigan has been able to evolve with the changing landscape of college sports, becoming a major player with NIL and in the transfer portal, which was perhaps best illustrated by their exploits on the hardwood this year.
After a bit of a lull in the 2000s and early 2010s, Michigan has truly gotten back to being the victors, but unfortunately its identity as the leaders and the best is still up for debate.
Running parallel to the wins and championships has been something else that’s dominated headlines and, in some ways, reversed the goodwill that had been earned by those fueling the success. Under athletic director Warde Manuel, Michigan’s athletic programs have been flush with winning, but also with controversy that has continually backed the school and those associated with it into a corner.
On the football side alone, the program saw multiple coaches accused and subsequently fired for driving under the influence in the 2024 offseason. Additionally, others have been hit with punishments related to recruiting violations during COVID, while former co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss was fired and charged with computer access crimes. And of course, there’s the Connor Stalions sign-stealing saga. And that’s just a few of the bigger things that have happened.
Michigan’s hockey program was investigated for numerous issues relating to its culture, as well as falsifications of close-contact information during COVID, ultimately leading to the firing of head coach Mel Pearson in 2022.
The men’s basketball program found the negative spotlight that same year when head coach Juwan Howard struck a Wisconsin assistant coach in the post-game handshake line.
Before this year, calls for Manuel’s job as a result of these off-field occurrences have been noticeable, but not widespread. Then, things changed with Sherrone Moore’s dismissal as the head football coach last December.
Manuel made the right call by firing Moore as a result of violating university policy by having an inappropriate relationship with staffer Paige Shiver. This came after a prior investigation last fall into Moore and Shiver that didn’t uncover anything incriminating, but things would fully come to light in December when Moore was fired.
However, it’s become more apparent since then that perhaps the relationship didn’t exactly catch the athletic department off guard. Just last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Manuel himself barred Moore from traveling with Shiver back in 2024, while evidence of the relationship began to percolate earlier that year.
In the immediate aftermath of Moore’s firing, the university launched another investigation through the law firm Jenner & Block into the athletic department’s culture and handling of its initial investigation of Moore. This investigation has since been completed at a price tag of more than $11 million, but the university has yet to release its findings. This prompted a lawsuit from Shiver, per the Detroit Free Press, alleging the university is hiding public records.
The latest happenings with Moore’s firing and the fallout from it have Manuel more in the crosshairs than he’s ever been to this point. Last week, it was reported by Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger and others that Manuel’s future was “in doubt” while calls from fans and alumni for accountability grew louder.
Speculation about Manuel’s future peaked before last Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting in Traverse City, but neither Manuel nor the athletic department was discussed at all.
As we’ve seen since the beginning of time in sports, even the most problematic athletes, coaches and executives can earn a longer leash thanks to the good they do for their respective organizations. But in Manuel’s case, he seems to have been given more leeway than most despite how poorly some of his programs have conducted themselves during his time and how negatively they’ve helped paint the university as a whole.
There’s no denying the need for a re-evaluation of Manuel’s standing with Michigan, but the university as a whole needs to do its part in getting back on proper footing as well.
The athletic department will always grab the headlines, but the university hasn’t been the picture of perfection itself over the last few years. Four years ago, longtime president Mark Schlissel was fired after years’ worth of inappropriate emails were uncovered. His replacement, Santa Ono, resigned only three years later before attempting to leave for the same position at the University of Florida, only to be turned down for the job.
Ono, along with Manuel, was also implicated in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by a former assistant football coach, Chris Partridge that alleges the university and athletic departments tried to cover up the 2023 sign-stealing investigation before it became public knowledge.
When Ono came to Michigan, the university was set to get back on the right track, but during his short tenure and subsequent holding pattern under interim president Domenico Grasso, the activities of athletics and administration have gone largely unchecked. It seems more apparent than ever those at the top are not all pulling in the same direction on a variety of university matters. Until Michigan has its affairs in order again and has a firm idea of where its future lies, it seems like Manuel will still be in charge of the athletic department and many of the school’s internal factions will continue to persist.
This fall, two seats on the Board of Regents will be up for election, with incumbent Jordan Acker missing out on being renominated, while the search for a new permanent president continues. Once those positions are finally filled by people who are fully invested in the university’s advancement, it seems logical that athletics and its leadership will be the next order of business.
It’s unfortunate Michigan has gotten to the point it’s at now. Controversies seem to find every organization sooner or later, but the effects are typically handled appropriately while safeguards are put in place to ensure the same mistakes aren’t repeated. Michigan has stumbled numerous times over the last decade and hasn’t always done the best job of tying up the loose ends in the aftermath, allowing issues to persist with increasing severity.
When there’s a lack of oversight on those in important positions, they’re able to pursue what they want — like winning championships — while perhaps not giving the proper attention to other more pressing and delicate matters, consequences be damned.
For devoted fans who fill the seats and for alumni like myself, accountability is important to ensure the university is truly living up to its mantra of being the leaders and the best in everything it does, not just its exploits on the field or on the court.
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