Updated

Updated · ESPN · Jul 21

Michigan Finds No Widespread Misconduct After $12 Million Probe as AD Warde Manuel Exits

Updated

Updated · ESPN · Jul 21

Michigan Finds No Widespread Misconduct After $12 Million Probe as AD Warde Manuel Exits

Q: Did Michigan’s leaders know about the sign-stealing scandal a full year before it was exposed?

There is no confirmed evidence that Michigan’s leaders knew a full year before the sign-stealing scandal became public. The strongest claim is an allegation in former assistant coach Chris Partridge’s lawsuit, which says then-President Santa Ono and athletic director Warde Manuel learned of evidence tied to the scheme in January 2023. That matters because the scandal was publicly exposed in October 2023, when the NCAA investigation became known. If Partridge’s account is accurate, that would put leadership knowledge roughly nine months before public exposure, not a full year. Partridge alleges the evidence surfaced during the investigation into former assistant Matt Weiss’s devices and that a private law firm later presented findings to top university officials. He further claims Ono told attendees not to take notes or discuss the presentation, suggesting a cover-up. But those are still allegations in active litigation, not established facts. What is established is that Michigan was later hit with major NCAA penalties in August 2025 over the Connor Stalions-led sign-stealing operation, and that the broader Jenner & Block review found failures in accountability and in responding effectively to wrongdoing inside the athletic department. So the best-supported answer is that Michigan leaders are accused of knowing months before the scandal broke publicly, but the public record does not prove they knew a full year in advance.

3 articles · Updated · ESPN · Jul 21

$12 million and six months of work led Jenner & Block to conclude misconduct was not widespread in Michigan's athletic department, after 350 interviews, roughly 90 tip-line calls and review of 20,000-plus pages.
The university still said athletic director Warde Manuel will leave at year-end, even as the review stopped short of finding department-wide wrongdoing.
The probe instead cited weaknesses in accountability, oversight, organizational structure and reporting that let misconduct go unaddressed consistently or promptly.
That review covered nearly a decade of scandals, including NCAA investigations, a $30 million fine, probation, cybercrime charges against a former assistant and multiple coach suspensions.
Michigan will not release the full report, citing participant privacy and attorney-client privilege, leaving the school to pursue compliance changes under incoming leadership.