Embattled Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel on Tuesday addressed the latest round of reports about his potential exit from the university, saying he has had conversations about a potential buyout.

“I think I’ve been fired by social media three times in my ten years here,” Manuel said during a previously scheduled interview on The Big 1050 WTKA.

Multiple media outlets recently suggested his job is in jeopardy amid investigations into the culture of the department and fired football coach Sherrone Moore’s relationship with his former executive assistant.

The investigations have cost the university about $12 million, and it may not release all the related reports.

“Documents related to these attorney-directed investigations are privileged and confidential and protected by attorney-client privilege,” school spokesman Paul Corliss said Tuesday. “Maintaining the confidentiality of these documents preserves the integrity of the investigative process, protects the privacy of those who participated and helps safeguard those individuals from potential retaliation.”

Michigan’s board has a meeting on Thursday, where the publicly accessible agenda does not mention Manuel or the investigations.

“I have four years left on my contract,” said Manuel, who acknowledged talks about a possible buyout. “I don’t know what the future is going to be.

“I do feel confident in the things I have done here at Michigan. I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished.”

Manuel said he has helped the Wolverines have their best 10-year stretch, winning this year’s national championship in men’s basketball along with recent football, men’s and women’s gymnastics NCAA titles, 95 Big Ten championships and 4,000-plus student-athletes earning academic all-conference honors.

Michigan also has had a string of scandals under his watch.

Manuel fired Moore for having an inappropriate relationship with his executive assistant, who sued the school earlier this month.

The football program is on NCAA probation, was tarnished by a sign-stealing scheme and has seen many former staffers have run-ins with the law, including Matt Weiss, who is charged with hacking into the computer accounts of thousands of college athletes to find intimate images.

Manuel is also named in a lawsuit — along with the university, its board, a former school president and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti — filed by fired assistant football coach Chris Partridge that claims Michigan knew about the sign-stealing scandal nearly a year before the public did.

The 58-year-old Manuel, who played football at Michigan under the late Bo Schembechler and was on the track team, was hired to lead the department in 2016. He signed a contract extension at Michigan in 2024 that runs through June 2030.

Manuel, a New Orleans native, previously served as athletic director at Connecticut and Buffalo after working in Michigan’s athletic department in various roles from 1996 to 2005.

___

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Note: The video above originally aired on July 9, 2026.

Barely three months since students flooded downtown Ann Arbor and chanted “Tt’s great … to be … a Michigan Wolverine” as they celebrated Michigan basketball’s first NCAA championship in 37 years, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone on the school’s campus who feels great about anything in the athletics department.

Instead, the university found itself in a much different and darker place Monday, July 13, when it faced new legal accusations that replaced all that happy singing with the deafening silence emitted through a barrage of “no comment” statements.

An amended lawsuit from former Wolverines linebackers coach Chris Partridge alleges former school president Santa Ono worked to hide details of the football team’s sign-stealing scandal and that athletic department leaders knew about ex-coach Sherrone Moore’s affair with staff member Paige Shriver years before it led to his firing.

And Warde Manuel – the athletic director who orchestrated that jubilation three months ago and even more jubilation three years earlier, when Michigan football won its first title in a quarter-century – finds himself in the eye of the storm as he faces the end of his highly successful but troubled tenure.

Manuel is named in Partridge’s lawsuit, which claims he knew about Moore’s relationship with Shriver “for years without taking action to protect the employee.” 

He’s also a focal point of an investigation that began in December, run by Chicago law firm Jenner & Block and costing the school nearly $12 million. The Free Press has learned that higher-ups have been briefed on the findings. The U-M Board of Regents is expected to discuss that investigation at a Thursday meeting in Traverse City.

Michigan health officials are investigating a growing outbreak of cyclosporiasis that has sickened 2,640 people, with early evidence pointing to lettuce or salad greens as a possible source.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Monday (July 13) that while the investigation is ongoing, no specific type of lettuce, grower, or supplier has been identified.

Other food items also have not been ruled out.

“Although we do not have a definite product identified as the source of the outbreak, we want to let Michiganders know what we have learned so far so they can take steps to protect their families,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the department’s chief medical executive. “Early information has shown lettuce as a common product that regularly comes up during the investigation.”

What is Cyclospora?

Cyclospora is a parasite that infects the intestines and can cause watery diarrhea, nausea, and stomach cramps.

The illness is typically spread by consuming food or water contaminated with the parasite.

Michigan usually reports only 40 to 50 cases of cyclosporiasis each year, making the current outbreak unusually large.

What investigators know

State health officials said they have completed more than 1,000 interviews with infected individuals while working with local, state, and federal partners to trace the source of the outbreak.

“We really need that kind of coordination to happen at the national level,” Bagdasarian said. “As soon as other states get their numbers to the CDC, we hope they can take a broader look to see whether these outbreaks are related.”

Because symptoms can take up to two weeks to develop after exposure and food distribution networks are complex, officials said the investigation could take time.

Officials emphasized there is no evidence linking the outbreak to swimming or other recreational water activities. Instead, investigators continue to focus on contaminated produce as the likely source.

Previous cyclospora outbreaks in the United States and Canada have been linked to bagged salad mixes, fresh cilantro, basil, raspberries, snow peas, and green onions.

Health officials said the investigation has been complicated by cyclospora’s long incubation period, with symptoms often taking up to two weeks to develop after exposure.

“That means investigators have to ask people about foods they ate, restaurants they visited, and grocery purchases from two to six weeks earlier,” Bagdasarian said.

How to protect yourself

As a precaution, the department is urging residents, restaurants and commercial kitchens in affected counties to take extra care when handling lettuce and salad greens.

Health officials recommend purchasing whole heads of lettuce instead of bagged, pre-washed lettuce or salad kits, discarding the outer two to three leaves before preparation and thoroughly washing the remaining leaves under clean running water.

When possible, greens should be cooked to at least 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius), which kills the parasite.

The department also recommends washing all fresh produce under running water and peeling fruits and vegetables when possible.

People at higher risk of severe illness or dehydration, including older adults, young children, organ transplant recipients and people undergoing chemotherapy, are encouraged to take extra precautions.

“Produce may have been grown on the other side of the country, possibly even in other countries, then processed somewhere else before coming into Michigan,” Bagdasarian said. “Many suppliers also distribute produce to multiple grocery stores and restaurant chains, making it harder to pinpoint the source.”

When to seek medical care

Anyone experiencing frequent watery diarrhea should contact a health care provider and specifically request testing for cyclospora, as routine stool tests may not detect the parasite.

The illness is typically treated with antibiotics, along with rest and fluids to prevent dehydration.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said it will continue providing updates as the investigation progresses.