Warde Joseph Manuel (born May 22, 1968) is an American college athletics administrator and former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player. He has served as the 12th director of athletics at his alma mater, the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, since January 2016. He was the director of athletics at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

from 2012 to 2016 and at the State University of New York at Buffalo from 2005 to 2012. He served as associate athletic director at the University of Michigan from 2000 to 2005.

Early life and education

Manuel played high school football at Brother Martin High School in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. He was a first team high school All-American. He was recruited and enrolled at the

, where he played

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for the Wolverines from 1986 to 1989, for coach Bo Schembechler, before suffering a career-ending neck injury. Manuel received a Bachelor of General Studies with a focus in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

, a

Master of Social Work The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social work ...

, and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from the University of Michigan in 1990, 1993, and 2005, respectively.

Administrative career

Manuel developed his management skills as assistant athletic director and then associate AD at the University of Michigan. He credits Michigan coaches and staff for his success, including Bo Schembechler, Stephen M. Ross, and Greg Harden, now Director of Athletic Counseling at Michigan."Warde Manuel credits U-M for showing him what to do at UConn"
by Carol Cain, April 27, 2014. Manuel was responsible for the hiring of

Turner Gill Turner Hillery Gill (born August 13, 1962) is an American college athletic administrator and former football player and coach. He is the Executive Director of Student-Athlete and Staff Development at the University of Arkansas, a position he as ...

as the head coach of Buffalo's football team. Under Gill the team achieved its first winning season and first invitation to a postseason bowl game since the program joined

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

athletics in 1999. Manuel helped change Buffalo's image and marketing strategy. Immediately after he took office, Manuel replaced the old "Bull Head" logo with a sleeker, more modern bull. Manuel also increased the athletics budget from $11 million to $25 million within three years of his hiring. Manuel has served on the

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...

selection committee since 2022–23, and became the committee chair for the 2024–25 edition, the first to feature a 12-team playoff.

References

Additional sources

Manuel's can-do attitude does plenty (Buffalo News Archives)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manuel, Warde Living people American football defensive ends Buffalo Bulls athletic directors UConn Huskies athletic directors Michigan Wolverines athletic directors Michigan Wolverines football players Michigan Wolverines men's track and field athletes Ross School of Business alumni Wayne State University faculty Players of American football from New Orleans African-American college athletic directors in the United States 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Track and field athletes from New Orleans 1968 births