University of Connecticut Athletic Director Warde Manuel is leaving Connecticut to take over the University of Michigan's athletic program.
After recent reports of the hiring, Manuel was formally announced as the new athletic director at Michigan, his alma mater, during a press conference on Friday in Ann Arbor.
UConn President Susan Herbst said in a press release that the university’s search for Manuel’s successor “will begin immediately,” and that she had appointed a seven-member committee to lead the effort. The group includes board of trustees members, alumni, and the university’s current field hockey coach.
Herbst said Manuel’s strong personal and professional connection to Michigan was a pivotal factor in his decision to leave UConn:
When Warde Manuel, our Athletic Director since 2012, told me he was interested in the AD position at the University of Michigan, I was not at all surprised; Michigan is his alma mater where he spent years of his life as a student-athlete, playing football for Bo Schembechler, participating in track and field, and earning his degrees, later becoming assistant and associate AD there.
Herbst said Manuel is expected to begin at Michigan in March, and that she had appointed Rachel Rubin, her current chief of staff, to serve as interim athletic director.
Some notable members of the university’s search committee include Doug Elliot, current president of The Hartford, board of trustees members Andy Bessette, Andrea Dennis-LaVigne, and Thomas Ritter, and field hockey coach Nancy Stevens, who has been at UConn since 1990 and led the program to two national championships.
Thanks Warde for all you have done and good luck at @UMichAthletics #UConnNation pic.twitter.com/wKBBJo8jTU
— UConn Huskies (@UConnHuskies) January 29, 2016
Michigan approached Manuel about becoming its new athletic director last December at an awards ceremony in New York City, according to the Detroit Free-Press. He accepted the position earlier this week.
The Free-Press reported that Manuel signed a five-year contract with Michigan, which will pay him over $700,000 per year.
