Warde J. Manuel, who has had a distinguished career in intercollegiate athletics that ranges from being a student-athlete to a director of athletics, has been named the new Director of Athletics at the University of Connecticut by President Susan Herbst.
Manuel, a 1990 graduate of the University of Michigan where he was on both the football and the track and field teams, has most recently been the Director of Athletics at the University at Buffalo for the past six years.
“We are incredibly proud and thrilled that Warde will be joining the Husky family,” said Herbst. “UConn is one of the great American universities, and our athletics program is the envy of many. It’s because of this that we were able to attract an amazing pool of candidates from across the nation – and an ideal, stand-out candidate of Warde’s exceptionally high caliber. He will play the integral, and even transformational, role in the future of UConn athletics. It’s a great day for this university.”
Manuel led a 20-sport program at Buffalo, an institution that is a member of the prestigious American Association of Universities. Buffalo enjoyed an unparalleled period of success during his time there, from an athletic, academic, and community service perspective.
“I am so honored and excited to come to the University of Connecticut,” said Manuel. “UConn is synonymous with greatness, excellence, and achievement. It is without a doubt one of the legendary schools that is at the pinnacle of intercollegiate athletics. The opportunity to be the athletics director at UConn and lead this extraordinary division is the role of a lifetime. You have remarkable coaches, great leadership, outstanding student-athletes, and a wonderful base of fans, alumni, and supporters. Our focus will be on academic success, compliance, ensuring great relationships with our fans, friends, and supporters and, without a doubt, victory on the field and the court. My family and I are so happy to call UConn home.”
From an academic standpoint, teams at Buffalo enjoyed incredible academic success. When Manuel arrived at UB, there were four programs – football, men’s basketball, wrestling, and baseball – that fell far below the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) cut score of 925. With a focused academic plan, all four teams posted a four-year APR rate above the cut score, and at the end of 2009-10, 10 of UB’s 20 sports had scores of 975 or above.
