A more than seven-month investigation into the Michigan athletic department that stemmed from the inappropriate relationship between former football coach Sherrone Moore and his subordinate Paige Shiver found athletic director Warde Manuel failed to quickly and effectively act on allegations of wrongdoing in the department.
While the university’s summary championed many aspects of the department, it acknowledged private law firm Jenner & Block identified multiple areas of improvement. A spokesman also confirmed Manuel will step down at the end of the year.
“I am very proud of all the successes and accomplishments of our athletic department over the past 11 years,” Manuel said in a statement Monday morning. “We have tremendous coaches and professionals who support our outstanding student athletes every day. I am happy President Grasso asked me to stay on to work with him to implement the recommendations for continuous improvement. I promise everyone I will have more to say about my decision at the appropriate time.”
The University of Michigan released what it characterized as a summary of the findings Monday, July 20, along with a message from President Domenico Grasso. No official documentation from the investigation was released beyond the summary.
Grasso heralded Manuel’s leadership while outlining upcoming changes. Many of the changes are promises to review and potentially change foundational human resources, compliance and oversight policies at the Ann Arbor-based university. But the school provides scant rationale for the proposed changes and acknowledges it’s still creating a framework to measure whether and how they are implemented.
“The broader cultural review has identified serious concerns that require immediate action. These include failures in accountability, structural deficiencies, weaknesses in our reporting and support systems, and concerns about retaliation,” Grasso said in the video.
“This is unacceptable. We have significant work ahead to restore Michigan athletics to its standing as a model program not only on the field, but also off the field.”
The Jenner & Block law firm, which U-M brought in to the tune of more than $12 million to investigate its athletic department culture as a whole after the shocking Moore news, found “outside investigators did not identify any current university employee with direct, contemporaneous evidence of the relationship.”
It’s unclear if they determined anyone previously employed by the university knew of the relationship before Moore was fired. Multiple reports from previous employees argue some in the department knew well before the end of 2025.
Andrew M. Stroth, a lawyer representing Shiver, blasted the university for not releasing more information from the investigation, arguing a recent story from the Wall Street Journal included more details on the inquiry than the school’s own release.
“From our perspective, the now departing Athletic Director, several coaches and University leadership were aware of a pattern and practice of abuse and Title IX violations within the athletic department long before December 2025. If the University is committed to transparency and accountability, it will release the full report,” Stroth said in an emailed statement.
Recently, Shiver and her team sued the university, arguing it is illegally withholding records from the investigation. That lawsuit is still pending in a Washtenaw County court.
The review did find that “some employees and student-athletes were reluctant to report concerns” but the summary did not give any details. The report said the university would address the finding “by strengthening reporting processes, protecting individuals who raise concerns, and reinforcing a culture that encourages speaking up.”
Grasso and the university summary outlined additional coming changes:
A person with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Free Press months back that Manuel had heard about the Moore and Shiver relationship prior to the December firing but at that point it was simply “rumors.”
The Free Press was also told Manuel asked Moore directly about the affair, something he categorically denied. When he asked others in the department and the football program for evidence, nobody had anything “concrete” to present.
Jenner & Block began working with Michigan in late 2025. Moore was fired in early December of that year after Shiver told the university they engaged in a long-standing affair that dated back to 2021. Moore went to Shiver’s apartment the same day and he was later arrested and faced a felony charge stemming from the encounter.
In March, Moore agreed to plead no contest to lesser charges before a Washtenaw County judge sentenced him to 18 months probation in April.
Grasso released a video in the days following Moore’s arrest saying Michigan would leave “no stone unturned” in its investigation and promised it would take “whatever steps necessary” to ensure nothing of the sort happened again.
“We are continuing the investigation of coach Moore’s actions to uncover any additional germane and material information and to assess whether there may be related misconduct by others,” Grasso said at the time. “We will not stop there. We have expanded the Jenner & Block assignment to include an independent evaluation of culture, conduct and procedures throughout our athletics department.”
While Michigan has been winning at a historic level − Michigan football won the national title in January 2024, the basketball team won the title in April 2026, men’s gymnastics won the national title in April 2025 and the hockey program has gone to four Frozen Four’s in the past five seasons − off the field, multiple programs have been riddled with scandal.
The football program saw a roughly $30 million fine for an illegal sign-stealing scheme; Jim Harbaugh was suspended three games as part of an NCAA investigation into impermissible recruiting; former offensive coordinator Matt Weiss is under investigation by the FBI for computer crimes; former hockey coach Mel Pearson was not retained after a Wilmer-Hale investigation found Pearson did not provide credible answers to investigators and lied during a probe into the program; former basketball coach Juwan Howard was suspended for five games after he hit a Wisconsin assistant coach in the handshake line following a game; and a host of assistant football coaches were given show-causes for their roles in various NCAA violations.
There have been other incidents, as well.
Most recently, Shiver has sued Michigan for intentionally violating the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, a law designed to help people find and review public records, and the suit is demanding “transparency and accountability from the University of Michigan, President Grasso and the Board of Regents,” said Andrew M. Stroth, a Chicago-based civil rights lawyer with Action Injury Law Group who is representing Shiver.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia. Dave Boucher is an investigative reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Reach him at dboucher@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan athletics investigation finds ‘weaknesses,’ changes promised
Reporting by Tony Garcia and Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Tony Garcia and Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
