The University of Michigan announced this afternoon it has agreed to a five-year contract extension for Athletic Director Warde Manuel. According to the school, the move was recommended by University President Mark Schlissel and then subsequently approved by the Board of Regents.

The new contract extension now will now keep Manuel in Ann Arbor through June 30, 2026. He has held his current position with the Maize and Blue since 2016, and is, believe it or not, just the 12th athletic director in Michigan history.

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"I am pleased to recommend the reappointment of Warde Manuel as the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Intercollegiate Athletics," Schlissel said today. "With the support of Mr. Manuel's leadership as the athletic director, Michigan Athletics has excelled in the classroom and on the fields of play."

With Manuel at the helm, U-M set an athletic department record in the 2020 NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) report with a four-year average GSR of 94 percent, and 15 of the school's 25 varsity athletic programs earning perfect GSR scores.

A school-record 405 athletes were also recognized in the 2019-20 academic year as Academic All-Big Ten, which goes to student-athletes who possess a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.

The on-the-field results have also been impressive during Manuel's tenure. Michigan has won 40 conference championships as a team, nine individual NCAA titles, an NIT championship from the women's basketball squad in 2017 and national runner-up finishes in women's cross country (2016), men's basketball (2018) and baseball (2019).

In 2019, Michigan garnered a second-place national finish in the NACDA (National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics) Director's Cup, which matched the highest ranking ever for U-M in the overall honor for collegiate athletic achievement.

Manuel's move that perhaps resonates best with Wolverine fans, however, was his hiring of current men's head basketball coach Juwan Howard May 22, 2019. Howard has compiled a 33-13 record (71.7 winning percentage) during his time on the job, and currently has his Wolverines alone in first place atop the Big Ten standings.

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