UConn AD Warde Manuel A Leading Candidate for Michigan Athletic Director

In 2010, when the University of Michigan was last searching for a new athletic director, Warde Manuel was one of five finalists for the job. At the time, Manuel—who played for legendary head coach Bo Schembechler at Michigan—was the athletic director for the University at Buffalo.

Manuel eventually left Buffalo for UConn, where he has led the athletic department through a tumultuous time and has hit some home runs, or at least ground-rule doubles, with coaching decisions in football, men's hockey and in his handling of the transition of Jim Calhoun from the helm of the men's basketball team.

Michigan is once again looking for a new athletic director after firing Dave Brandon and having an interim in place for a year. Manuel is once again a serious candidate. A source close to the Michigan program is saying he is likely a top-three candidate.

Additionally, for what it is worth, Manuel has topped a list of candidates produced by MLive and the Michigan Rivals site, the latter of which tabbed Manuel as a favorite along with Boston College Athletic Director Brad Bates.

Manuel played for Michigan from 1986 to 1989 and was teammates with current Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh. Other candidates for the athletic director opening include Bates, Arkansas AD Jeff Long and Colorado State AD Joe Parker.