Michigan State’s athletic department has its own uncertainty, but at least the picture is starting to come into focus. Jon Palumbo was named interim athletic director earlier this week after J Batt left for Kentucky after one season, and that at least gave Michigan State a direction, even if it’s only temporary.
Michigan, meanwhile, is still stuck in the fog.
On Sunday, word surfaced that Warde Manuel was out as Michigan’s athletic director. Then came new reporting that it wasn’t official yet.
That kind of mixed messaging only made the situation look worse, and it underscored how messy things have become in Ann Arbor. While Michigan State is moving toward the finish line on its AD change, Michigan seems to be standing at the starting line, still trying to figure out what happens next.
That uncertainty is only the latest twist in a department that has been under plenty of scrutiny. Just a few days earlier, Manuel signed basketball coach Mike Boynton Jr. to a two-year deal and removed his interim tag after Dusty May’s NBA departure. Boynton has only one NCAA Tournament appearance on his résumé and went 51-74 in Big 12 play at Oklahoma State.
For Michigan State fans, the contrast is hard to miss. They may envy the trophies, but they don’t envy the fallout.
Michigan has won a football national title and a basketball national title, but the success has come alongside a string of major problems. Jim Harbaugh and several assistants have been investigated for a cheating scandal and banned from the sport for years. May was accused of tampering after the basketball title, and the program is now dealing with the consequences of the coaching change and Boynton’s interim tag being removed.
There’s more, too. The Jeff Jackson debacle, the Sherrone Moore scandal and the Matt Weiss computer hacking scandal were all handled poorly and, in the source’s words, mostly swept under the rug.
That’s why many Michigan fans have wanted Manuel gone for years, even with the on-field and on-court success. They’ve pointed to questionable hires and a long list of scandals that have never really gone away.
Winning national titles is one thing. Winning them while leaving behind that kind of mess is another.
And for Michigan State fans, the strange comfort right now is that Michigan’s nightmare may soon be over if Manuel is fired.
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