Report: Michigan intends to hire Warde Manuel as AD

Warde has some pretty big shoes himself

Football, naw.

I'd gladly exchange Rutgers for UConn. 

Thank you. I am very interested in not doing that. 

Played for Bo, played with Harbaugh, took on a terribe UConn program and turned them around (and hired Kevin Ollie who won them a National Championship).  Jim Hackett was the rare exception, as most businessmen would be more Brandon like.  This is as big of a home run as you can get.

Manuel played for Michigan from 1986 to 1989 and was teammates with current Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Manuel developed his management skills as assistant athletic director and then associate AD at the University of Michigan. He credits Michigan coaches and staff for his success, including Bo Schembechler, Stephen Ross, and Greg Harden, now Director of Athletic Counseling at U-M. Manuel was responsible for the hiring of Turner Gill as the head coach of Buffalo's football team. Under Gill the team achieved its first winning season and first invitation to a post season bowl game since the program joined Division I (NCAA) athletics in 1999. Manuel also increased the athletics budget from $11 million to $25 million within three years of his hiring.

Warde J. Manuel, who has had a distinguished career in intercollegiate athletics that ranges from being a student-athlete to a director of athletics, became the Director of Athletics at the University of Connecticut in March of 2012. UConn teams have won six NCAA national championships under Manuel's watch - the most ever by Husky squads in a three-year period. In May of 2015, in recognition of Manuel’s leadership of the Huskies success academically and athletically, he was named a winner of the Under Armour AD of the Year Award by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America (NACDA). The UConn Division of Athletics has enjoyed outstanding performances in the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) under Manuel’s watch. In 2015, UConn had 13 teams that posted a perfect single-season 1000 score. In 2014, UConn’s three national championship teams (field hockey and men’s and women’s basketball) posted a perfect 1000 single-year score while field hockey also had a perfect 1000 four-year score.

I think everyone is excited to have AD who has experience running an athletic department and working in college athletics and is familar with Michigan and what is needed to work there. You will get the occasional Hackett with no prior athletic department experience, but I think people are now very resistent to another business hire aafter notable high profile failures like Brandon and Steve Patterson at Texas. 

I don't know the stats for AD's across all of college sports, but it would seem like the safer road in AD selection is someone with experience, and at this point Michigan needs a safe pick, who will keep things going well, not a risky selection to shake things up, at least that is my opinion.

Seven years at Buffalo and three at UConn.  He hired Turner Gil at Buffalo who led them to their first winning season and bowl appearance in school history.  Also doubled the department budget there.  I think he was responsible for hiring Kevin Ollie as HC.  He also has some former alumni on his staff and allowed them to grow and move up the ranks within those smaller departments.  He may have an AD tree some day.

Very solid hire IMO.

I like ADs with experience you know in athletics. I'm really excited about this hire. 

and suggest that Warde was probably hand picked by Harbaugh personally.

This is fantastic news.

Hope you are right on the hockey hire!  I was thinking Brad Bates would be a good choice given the hockey culture at BC.  At least UConn has a growing hockey program that recently joined hockey east, so hopefully Warde will put some focus on hockey. 

Yeah, I'd call winning the National Championship two years ago decent.  I'd say he's done really well considering UConn isn't in a power 5 conference.  

In hockey they recently made the jump to a major conference, Hockey East