ESPN's Peter Burns calls for Michigan AD Warde Manuel to resign from CFP committee
ESPN’s Peter Burns does not want to see Michigan banned from the College Football Playoff. However, he does have some thoughts about Michigan AD Warde Manuel’s standing on the CFP selection committee.
Thursday evening, Burns addressed Manuel and said it is “UNBELIEVABLE” that Manuel has not already resigned from the selection committee. Burns believes that should have happened immediately and said he still thinks Manuel should resign and immediately be replaced on the committee.
While Michigan’s AD Warde Manuel has to recuse himself from the CFB Playoff selection committee when Michigan is being discussed….his inclusion in this entire process brings up a major conflict of interest
He should resign from the selection committee & immediately be replaced https://t.co/hWqCpqq3bG
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) November 16, 2023
As Burns noted, Manuel is not directly involved in the process when Michigan is being discussed, but he does have a voice on everything else related to the committee. This is also not the first time Manuel’s status as a committee member has been questioned.
Following the first CFP rankings of the season, CFP chair Boo Corrigan and Executive Director Bill Hancock were asked about Manuel’s standing as a result of the sign-stealing investigation. Hancock specifically said at the time there was no discussion about asking Manuel to step down and Corrigan said the AD brought “credibility” to the process.