The fallout from former Michigan Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore’s explosive scandal is continuing seven months after he departed Ann Arbor. Last week, former Michigan staffer, Paige Shiver filed a lawsuit against the university for violating the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.
This week, athletic director Warde Manuel was dragged into the fallout from Moore’s firing when documents from former Michigan linebackers coach Chris Partridge’s lawsuit were obtained by the Detroit Free Press.
Warde Manuel Caught Up in Sherrone Moore Fallout
Partridge sued the university, the Board of Regents and Manuel for wrongful termination after being fired in the Wolverines’ sign-stealing scandal in 2023.
Partridge, who is now the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive run game coordinator, sued Michigan in March, but the filing was updated last month. In his lawsuit, Partridge claims that Manuel and the university’s leadership knew about Moore’s alleged relationship with Shiver, but chose to turn a blind eye to it.
The Detroit Free Press, which is a part of the USA Today Network, obtained the documents of the lawsuit in which it was written that, “Manuel and other leaders allegedly knew about Moore’s relationship with a staff member “for years without taking action to protect the employee.”
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It was also revealed that Michigan president Santa Ono “allegedly hid key findings of a private law firm’s investigation into then-assistant football coach Matthew Weiss. Federal prosecutors say Weiss illegally used school devices and other equipment to inappropriately obtain thousands of student photos, records and other personal information. Weiss denies engaging in criminal conduct.”
The report added, “Ono allegedly directed a handful of key people – including Manuel – to take no notes or any other records of their meeting with the law firm when it presented the findings of its investigation.”
Moreover, it was revealed that “Ono and Manuel never, “reported the evidence of cheating found on Weiss’s computer, the law firm’s involvement, or the results of the investigation to the Board of Regents, the Compliance Services Office, or the NCAA … [and] failed to hold itself accountable for the ‘sign-stealing’ scheme, in violation of both its NCAA requirements,” the lawsuit states.”
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The University of Michigan’s regents are set to meet and discuss the investigation into the culture of the institution’s athletic department on Thursday. Manuel’s future at the program is expected to be a topic of conversation around Thursday’s meeting, though it is not listed on the board’s published agenda.
Manuel has had a long association with Michigan, playing defensive tackle for the legendary Bo Schembechler between 1986 and 1989, before a neck injury ended his football career.
Over the years, he received a Bachelor of General Studies with a focus on psychology (1990), a Master of Social Work (1993) and a Master of Business Administration (2005) from the institution. He was also the university’s associate athletic director between 2000 and 2005, before taking the Buffalo Bulls’ A.D’s job until 2012.
Manuel held the same job with the UConn Huskies until 2016, when he returned to his alma mater.
During an interview on “The Michigan Insider” on Tuesday, Manuel addressed his future as the Wolverines’ athletic director.
“What happens in this world, for whatever reason people decide to put things out there about what the future is going to hold. I think I’ve been fired three times by social media in the 10 years I’ve been here,” Manuel said.
“Don’t believe everything that’s out there in the world about what people say. It could happen, I don’t know. I don’t know what the future is going to be and how long I’ll be in this position.”
Michigan Athletics has racked up at least 24 separate scandals since Warde Manuel took over in 2016.
10 years, 24 scandals. https://t.co/80K1OrGsvF pic.twitter.com/aUyL1znhRm
— Justin Spiro (@DarkoStateNews) July 12, 2026
Manuel’s tenure as Michigan’s athletic director has been beset by controversies, headlined by Stalions’ sign-stealing, recruitment during the dead period of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Moore affair.
