Free Speech in Sport Teach-Out

In this segment, we will hear from Michigan's athletic administrator about the challenges and responsibilities in upholding student athletes’ rights regarding free speech and protest in sports.

Warde Manuel is Michigan’s 12th athletic director in 150 years of intercollegiate athletics at the university, and is a three-time Michigan alumnus and two-sport athlete who played football under Bo Schembechler. U-M has 31 teams and more than 900 student-athletes. The self-supporting department has an annual budget of $151 million and a staff of 350. Previously, Manuel was the director of athletics at the University of Connecticut in 2012. Under Manuel’s leadership, UConn teams won six NCAA national championships — the most ever by UConn teams in a three-year period.

Manuel is a native of New Orleans. He was a high school All-America football player and played for U-M under Schembechler. He earned multiple letters and started at defensive end in his sophomore year. His football career was cut short by a neck injury, and he subsequently lettered as a member of the Wolverines’ track and field team. Manuel earned his bachelor of general studies with a focus in psychology in 1990, his master’s degree in social work from U-M in 1993 and an MBA from U-M’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business in 2005. You can read more about Warde here.