Michigan Announces Details Of Warde Manuel's Extension
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 22: Charles Matthews #1 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates his buzzer beater game winning shot to beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers 59-57 with athletic director Warde Manuel at Crisler Arena on January 22, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel will be in Ann Arbor for the foreseeable future. Today, he signed a five-year contract extension with the university, which takes his deal through June 30, 2026.
Manuel has had a busy year. After Michigan football's dreadful 2-4 season in 2020, he re-upped Jim Harbaugh to a new contract with a much lower salary. His new deal is five years and totals $20 million, a far cry from the ~$8 million he was making per year before.
His big move with the basketball program is paying off so far, however. To replace the highly successful John Beilein, he hired former Fab Five member Juwan Howard. After a decent 19-12 first season as head coach, the Wolverines are 14-1 in 2020-21, and sit at No. 3 in the country.
Warde Manuel is set to make a base salary of $1.1 million per year, per documentation shared by Angelique Chengelis of The Detroit News. There is also the potential for "merit increases" as early as September.
"I am pleased to recommend the reappointment of Warde Manuel as the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Intercollegiate Athletics," Michigan President Mark S. Schlissel said today. "With the support of Mr. Manuel's leadership as the athletic director, Michigan Athletics has excelled in the classroom and on the fields of play."
The UM alumnus took over the athletic department in 2016, after a stint as the AD at UConn. Michigan has been very competitive across the board during his tenure. Figuring out the Jim Harbaugh situation and getting the football program to a place where it can compete for the Big Ten and true national relevance.
