Warde Manuel addresses approach to NCAA investigations into Michigan, ferocity of fight

The NCAA has sent the Michigan Wolverines a Notice of Allegations (NOA) regarding the sign-stealing scandal and issues regarding recruiting. With that, athletic director Warde Manuel is now preparing for what comes next.

Now, Manuel has addressed his approach to NCAA investigations while also sharing his ferocity and desire to fight back when it’s right.

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“Well, first of all, we’re going to fight when we need to fight, but also we’re going to — where we have made mistakes, we’re going to admit them and deal with it,” Warde Manuel said. “And so, I don’t want people to think because we don’t talk about it publicly, and I can’t, that we’re not going to fight for what we think is right for the University of Michigan and for the people that are here. We are.”

The most recent NOA against Michigan is primarily related to the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal that rocked college football in 2023. That scandal allegedly saw a staffer, Stalions, organize advanced scouting of opponents at games with the goal of stealing signs of future opponents.

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At the time, head coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended for three games. Meanwhile, Stalions resigned when news of the scandal broke.

“But at the same time, we have to also understand if we do do things against the rules, that we know are against the rules, we need to admit it and move forward and deal with it. And so, there is a duality to that, there is the sense that you have a responsibility to adhere to rules that we say we’re going to participate in. But when it gets to a point where we feel like it is over the top or we need to fight something, we certainly will,” Manuel said.

“And so from that standpoint, I have people around me, we have advisors, we have people in the university that are discussing this. And it’s a it’s not just Warde making a decision. It’s a group that are thinking about how to handle these cases and handle the situations that come forward. And so for me, there are times that we’re going to battle, but there are also times that we’re going to say, ‘We were wrong. We did it.’ Gosh, and that’s the piece, that’s the duality that we have to have. We just can’t do it publicly. But I don’t want, to your question, people to think that we just sit and accept everything that is thrown our way.”

In an initial draft of the NOA, Michigan was facing violations for violating NCAA rules, noncompliance, and recruiting issues. That draft specifically accused Michigan and Stalions of impermissibly scouting at least 13 future opponents on at least 58 occasions between 2021 and 2023. On top of that, it also accused then-offensive coordinator and current head coach Sherrone Moore of deleting text messages between himself and Stalions.

That draft wasn’t final. So, changes are possible. However, it was reportedly fairly similar to the one that Michigan and athletic director Warde Manuel recently received.

What the punishment for Michigan could be remains up in the air. However, ESPN insider Adam Rittenberg predicted that the Wolverines don’t have to worry about a postseason ban.

“Now, as far as the program goes, it could be a wide range of things,” Rittenberg said recently. “A fine, maybe a postseason ban – although that seems increasingly unlikely with the way the NCAA is handling these infractions cases.”