ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The University of Michigan president Mark Schlissel announced today that Dave Brandon has resigned as athletic director and that former Steelcase CEO Jim Hackett will serve as the interim A.D. until a permament replacement is found.
Brandon was named Michigan’s Athletic Director on January 5, 2010. After one year, he fired Rich Rodriguez as the school’s football coach and hired Brady Hoke.
While Hoke went 11-2 in 2011 that included a win in the Sugar Bowl, the Wolverines’ record has gotten progressively worse since that year. This year the team is 3-5 overall (1-3 in the Big Ten) and at risk of becoming bowl ineligible.
While Hoke has faced plenty of criticism for the program’s struggles, so has Brandon. Along with the football team’s performance, Brandon has been criticized for ticket prices and his treatment of the program’s traditions and fans.
The Wolverines-centric blog, mgoblog.com, recently reported several email exchanges between Brandon and disgruntled fans in which Brandon tells one fan to “find a new team” and another to “quit drinking and go to bed.”
