Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon has resigned, university president Mark Schlissel announced on Friday. He will be replaced on an interim bases by Jim Hackett while a search for Brandon’s replacement begins.
Brandon had been the Athletic Director at Michigan since 2010, but had come under significant pressure this season after Michigan’s historic football program has sputtered to a 3-5 record.
While the football program struggled under Brandon’s watch, most of Michigan’s other sports thrived under his tenure, including the swimming & diving programs. Brandon oversaw the transition of Michigan from a gender-separate program to a gender-combined program in the summer of 2012, and the women’s program has seen a significant uptick in recruiting since head coach Mike Bottom has taken over.
He was also the AD in power in the 2012-2013 season when the Michigan men’s swim team suspended all of its upperclassmen at the beginning of the season and regrouped to win the NCAA title 6 months later. He has also had the foresight to give Mike Bottom the freedom to use creativity to grow the profile of the Michigan swimming program, and through events like the Michigan Water Carnival, the program has become a Petri dish for inspired new ideas in swimming.
Hackett, a former member of the Michigan football team, says that he will not seek the position on a full-time basis.
Resigned? He was shown the door and resigning is the polite way to describe it.
What AD would resign from a plum job like Michigan?
Answer: No one.