Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel was named president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics on Tuesday.
Manuel will hold this position for the 2020-21 membership year, one likely to be considered the most crucial for athletic directors since the NACDA’s founding in 1965.
“I am honored to step into the President’s role with NACDA during this pivotal time in collegiate athletics,” Manuel said in the statement. “Our organization and the schools we represent face considerable challenges and uncertainty; there is no better time to look inward at our structures, processes, relationships, and communication with each other. This organization means a great deal to me, and I am energized to collaborate with so many talented individuals within our profession.”
Manuel previously held the position of the 2nd vice president in the NACDA committee in the 2019-20 membership year and 3rd vice president in the 2018-19 membership year. He is succeeding University of Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne as president and will be aided by Jamie Pollard — director of athletics at Iowa State University — as his 1st vice president.
As president, Manuel has added to his growing list of responsibilities amid a nationwide pandemic. Now, with more than 15,700 college athletics administrators at more than 1,700 institutions as members of the NACDA, Manuel’s decisions and guidance on how to proceed safely with college sports will be felt well beyond the confines of Ann Arbor.