Source: U-M launches athletic department query

The University of Michigan has commissioned a full investigation into the practices and culture of its athletic department, centering on how numerous scandals have both occurred and been handled in recent years, a source told ESPN.

The firing of football coach Sherrone Moore this week will be a particular focus.

The investigation will be handled by Jenner & Block, a Chicago-based law firm that has done business with the school in recent years, including conducting the investigation into whether Moore had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

The Detroit News first reported the authorization of the investigation.

The firm opened an inquiry earlier this fall about the conduct of Moore and a staff member after the university received an anonymous tip, multiple sources told ESPN. Both Moore and the staff member denied the relationship and not enough evidence emerged to confirm it.

That changed Wednesday when, according to prosecutors in Washtenaw County, Michigan, the staff member told investigators it did occur and presented corroborating evidence. The staff member had, on Monday, broken off the multi-year relationship, according to prosecutors, but became concerned when Moore sent a flurry of texts and calls that were unreturned.

The university promptly fired Moore on Wednesday for the relationship. Soon after, Moore went to the staff member's apartment just outside Ann Arbor and, according to prosecutors, barged in, grabbed kitchen scissors and some butter knives. He then threatened to commit suicide.

"I'm going to kill myself," Moore said according to first assistant prosecutor Kati Rezierski. "I'm going to make you watch. My blood is on your hands. You ruined my life."

Moore, a married father of three, was charged Friday on three counts, including felony home invasion and misdemeanor charges of stalking in a domestic relationship and breaking and entering. Moore pleaded not guilty and a probable cause hearing was set for Jan. 22, 2026.

Friday evening, after spending two nights in jail, Moore was released on a $25,000 bond with a GPS monitoring system and an order to receive counselling.

This is the latest in a series of scandals that have hit both the athletic department and the university as a whole. It includes a federal indictment in March of former offensive coordinator Matt Weiss, who is facing 24 charges of unauthorized access to computers and aggravated identity theft.

Prosecutors from the Eastern District of Michigan allege that Weiss ran a vast, multiyear effort to access the personal accounts of thousands of NCAA student-athletes across the country. He is charged with targeting specific female athletes to access personal and intimate photographs and videos.

Some of the alleged crimes, the feds say, occurred while Weiss was working inside the school's football facility, Schembechler Hall from 2021-22, and during a previous stint with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens.

There have been additional run-ins with the NCAA rules, including the high-profile 2023 advanced scouting operation centered around former football staffer Connor Stalions. The NCAA hit the program with four years of probation and a fine that could reach over $30 million.

Former football coach Jim Harbaugh was sanctioned with numerous suspensions in his final years at the school for both the advanced scouting situation and recruiting violation. Harbaugh left to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers in January of 2024. Moore, who was promoted from offensive coordinator to succeed Harbaugh, has also twice been suspended by the NCAA. He still owes a one game penalty, which was to be served in 2026, for deleting a thread of text messages sent to Stalions.

The series of scandals have put a spotlight on athletic department as a whole, including director Warde Manuel, an alum and former player for the Bo Schembechler-led Wolverines of the late 1980s. Manuel has been on the job since 2016.

A high-level meeting of university officials was held Thursday evening, sources tell ESPN, leading to intense speculation about Manuel's future, but he remains on the job. The university would owe the 57-year-old Manuel, who signed a new five year contract in December of 2024, about $6.75 million if it dismissed him without cause.

On Thursday, interim university president Domenico Grasso, in a letter to the campus community, asked anyone with knowledge of the Moore situation to provide it via a confidential reporting system.

"Together, we will move forward with integrity and excellence, and reaffirm our dedication to serving the public good," Grasso wrote.

Despite all of the tumult, the Wolverines athletic department is mostly thriving in competition, including the football program winning the 2023 national title. Currently the both men's and women's basketball teams are ranked in the top six nationally. Hockey is No. 1.

Meanwhile, the university has consistently set institutional records for the undergraduate application numbers in recent years, hitting 98,310 for the incoming freshman class of 2025, per federal filings from the university. That is up from 79,743 for the incoming class of 2022, an 18.9 percent jump in just three years.

Jenner & Block has a longstanding relationship with the university, including, in 2022, investigating an inappropriate relationship between then school president Mark Schlissel and a university employee that led to Schlissel's removal from office.