Michigan Must Bury the ‘Michigan Man’ Myth Once and for All

Hail! To the obvious. Hail! To the house cleaning.
Hail! Hail! To Michigan, the champions in reproach.

Given the haughty nature of those in charge of the Wolverines in recent years, such lines will probably not be incorporated into the program’s catchy fight song this fall. That’s too bad, because it’s certainly what many throughout the world of college athletics are thinking this week after the university released an extremely sanitized version of the findings from an investigation into the athletic department’s culture by an outside law firm. To the surprise of nobody shortly thereafter, it was announced that athletic director Warde Manuel would finally be exiting by the end of the year.

While the scant documentation and subsequent statements were full of contradictions and public relations spin, the moment should be one which draws a firm line in the sand for those in Ann Arbor. After showing one Michigan Man the door in Manuel, it’s time to toss the term out for good along with him and stop trying to adhere to the same ethos which has led to the current predicament of scandals undercutting historic success.

“Michigan athletics has long been a source of pride,” university president Domenico Grasso said in a video. “However, the broader culture review has identified serious concerns that require immediate action. These include failures in accountability, structural deficiencies, weakness in our reporting and support systems, and concerns about retaliation. 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 off the field.”

That should—but by all indications won’t—start by ensuring that Jenner & Block LLP, the high-powered Chicago firm which interviewed more than 300 people and reviewed more than 20,000 documents, actually writes a formal report to be released publicly accounting for all of the past sins they uncovered the past few months. At present, we’re just supposed to take their word for it, quite literally as only a verbal summary was given to university regents in order to get around open records requests and any actual accountability and transparency.

Even for an industry which has been defined by scores of billable hours in recent decades, getting paid upwards of $10 million for the end product being only a short Q and A on the school’s website is Hall of Fame–level stuff (and not the one they want to be prominently displayed in). True maize-and-blue fans have every right to be furious with the administration if they don’t reverse course, which is all but treating them as suckers accepting the company line from such maneuvering.

The only silver lining is that this entire episode should render moot the ideals codified by Bo Schembechler decades ago both internally and externally. The Michigan Man was always a myth, now it’s been busted for all to see amid enough scandals that do more than make its supporters blush shame.

Central to this is Manuel, who has been on thin ice so many times over the course of his lengthy tenure in charge that it remains a marvel to see him exit largely on his terms and complete with what is believed to be a hefty buyout.

“I am very proud of all the successes and accomplishments of our athletic department over the past 11 years,” Manuel said in a statement. “We have tremendous coaches and professionals who support our outstanding student athletes every day.”

What morsels of the investigation that were doled out by the school did note that Manuel “demonstrated important leadership strengths” and did not single him out as being directly responsible for some of the myriad scandals which have beset Schembechler Hall. It’s fair to highlight that as he largely can be attributed to reversing Michigan’s course from an underachieving department prior to his arrival to one which has captured a rare national championship double in football and men’s basketball during the past three years. Women’s basketball has turned into a consistent Top 25 program under his watch, gymnastics has developed into a powerhouse and the hockey program recently made the Frozen Four as well.

But despite all the success and the victory cigars he would whip out after a title, Manuel was also the guy in charge during a seemingly endless string of headlines at a place whose reputation was painstakingly crafted to be pristine—but was nothing of the sort in reality.

Under Manuel’s watch, the football program committed Level I NCAA violations under Jim Harbaugh and was embroiled in the Connor Stalions sign-sealing scandal that made the Wolverines a pariah in the football community just as they were returning to the top of it. Offensive coordinator Matt Weiss allegedly committed even more serious crimes as a result of computer hacking. A separate investigation a few years ago detailed toxic culture issues in the hockey program. That’s not even addressing what led to Sherrone Moore’s dismissal late last year in what was the latest wrongdoing for the department the AD presided over.

“The culture review found that weaknesses in accountability, organizational structure, oversight, and reporting created conditions in which misconduct was not always addressed consistently, promptly, or in accordance with University expectations,” the university said.

At some point, the buck has to stop in an athletic department rocked by such scandals. Even without a smoking gun from the investigation that could have made the last buyout check more palatable, that does land at Manuel’s feet as the guy who was in charge of enough valleys to make those incredible peaks no longer worth keeping around.

Remarkably, Grasso praised the “tireless” work of Manuel during his video and confirmed that he would be retained as an adviser as the school goes about finding a replacement in a search which should not lack for excellent candidates to choose from.

No matter who the Wolverines go with however, there should be a clear focus as part of what should be a natural, and full, reset in leadership. The Michigan Man ethos is no more and so should be the preference for going with someone who has previous ties to the way things have been run dating back to the days of Schembechler.

That’s part of the reason why the program is at this inflection point to begin with and it will take someone far removed from it to ensure that the university can get back to winning at the same level, but not in the same manner it has been accomplished lately.

Only then can “The Victors” be sung as originally intended. Until then, the alternative version will have to suffice in its place.

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