It appears Michigan finally has a full-time athletic director in place.
According to multiple reports, the university will hire Warde Manuel to replace Jim Hackett, who has served as the school’s interim AD since October 2014. The university has not yet confirmed the hire. Multiple outlets are reporting that an announcement could come before the end of the week.
"You don't want to jump offsides," Hackett told MLive.com about the hire. "You want the whole team to be in tow with you when you make your move."
Manuel, the current AD at Connecticut, played college football for the Wolverines under Bo Schembechler from 1986 to 1989 and was a teammate of UM head coach Jim Harbaugh in 1986. Manuel previously worked in UM’s athletic department as assistant athletic director and later as associate athletic director from 1998-2005.
After his time at Michigan, Manuel served as athletic director at Buffalo from 2005-2012 before moving on to UConn. At Buffalo, Manuel hired former Nebraska star quarterback Turner Gill as head coach. Gill went on to lead the Bulls to a MAC title in his third season with the program. He also hired Kevin Ollie as men’s basketball coach at UConn after Jim Calhoun resigned. Ollie led the Huskies to a national title in 2014.
Manuel, 47, will be the school’s first full-time AD since Dave Brandon resigned in October 2014 after several controversies.
For more Michigan news, visit TheWolverine.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
