BIG TEN NEWS

Michigan AD Brandon to resign

The Sports Xchange

October 31, 2014 at 11:55 am.

Michigan Wolverines athletic director Dave Brandon. Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon is expected to resign Friday, according to multiple reports.

Brandon will not return next school year, a source told ESPN.com. He has been under intense scrutiny this year, particularly during the past five weeks.

The announcement will be made at a 1:30 p.m. ET Friday during an on-campus news conference with Michigan president Mark Schlissel, a source confirmed to The Detroit News.

Brandon, whose contract had been extended through June 2018, is not expected to attend the news conference. If he is fired without cause, the school must pay the remainder of his base salary, which is about $3 million, according to the newspaper.

Brandon has been at the center of controversy all season, including the football team’s mishandling of quarterback Shane Morris’ head injury and issues with students’ ticket prices.

Earlier this week, Mgoblog.com posted emails that fans wrote to Brandon with their concerns about the athletic department. The website reviewed email exchanges between Brandon and several different fans in which he allegedly told one to “quit drinking and go to bed” and another to “find a new team to support.” Reached for comment, a Michigan spokesman told ESPN.com the school had “nothing else to add.”
Students were upset when Brandon, a former Michigan football player who is in his fifth year as AD, reworked the seating arrangements for football games without consulting them and raised season ticket prices for students to the highest in the Big Ten. Brandon then attempted to fix the issue by dramatically dropping the price and promising to be more connected to the student body.

The Michigan Daily reported that students had planned to distribute 2,000 “#FireDaveBrandon” T-shirts for Saturday’s homecoming game against Indiana.
The Michigan football program has floundered under coach Brady Hoke in his three seasons. The Wolverines are 3-5 overall after last weekend’s 35-11 loss to Michigan State, their sixth loss in seven seasons against their rival.

A month ago, Brandon said in a statement sent to the media at 12:50 a.m. that mistakes were made in handling Morris’ “probable, minor concussion.”

“Shane came off the field after the following play and was reassessed by the head athletic trainer for the ankle injury,” Brandon said on Sept. 30. “Since the athletic trainer had not seen the hit to the chin and was not aware that a neurological evaluation was necessary, he cleared Shane for one additional play.”

Hoke had said that the quarterback aggravated a leg injury he suffered earlier in the game against Minnesota.