Kornacki: Manuel Learned from Michigan Legends
4/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | General
Warde Manuel
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Warde Manuel's best friend when he was a student-athlete at the University of Michigan was Vada Murray. They came into the football program together as classmates in 1986 and roomed together for four years. They grew up together, played together, laughed together and cried together.
Friends for life, until Murray's ended on April 6, 2011, two years after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was a baffling revelation because neither Murray nor his parents ever smoked.
When I spoke this week with Manuel, who returned as the athletic director at his alma mater last month, he looked through his book bag for the card from Murray's memorial service on campus at Cliff Keen Arena and the funeral in Ann Arbor.
"I always carry that card," said Manuel.
Murray was 43 when he died, and Manuel and many others lost a brother. He also was close to many on the Ann Arbor Police Department force that he served for 21 years. I recalled for Manuel a story I wrote for the Detroit Free Press about Murray and a former Notre Dame football player, Steve Lawrence, on the eve of a big game against the Fighting Irish. They had become patrol partners but were on opposite sides of the big rivalry game, and that made for a good story.
"I remember reading that article," Manuel said with a smile.
Murray was central to Michigan becoming more than a school and the Wolverines becoming more than a team for which Manuel played. The whole experience was about finding a college family for Manuel, who recalled how Bo Schembechler, Don Canham, Red Berenson, Carol Hutchins, Jim Harbaugh, Murray and others impacted his life in profound ways.
Manuel, 47, was reminded of that family aspect just last week, when the members of the 1999 football team that he served as an administrator were reunited to receive their over-due Orange Bowl championship rings during the spring scrimmage at Michigan Stadium.
"To see those guys and now to see their families and meet their kids brought a lot of joy to me," said Manuel, the father of two children, Evan and Emma, along with his wife, Chrislan. "To see what they're doing now, their different career paths, and their special stories about their time here.
"Some may have commented on things that I said or did to help them along the way, and I saw the special impact Michigan football had on them. It had a deep meaning for all of us. That was a special time for me."
Vada Murray (left) and Manuel
Manuel came to Michigan interested in its highly rated College of Pharmacy and hopeful of an NFL career but left with a degree in general studies and an eye toward athletic administration. Manuel's course took quite a turn but one that he now notes was for the better.
Still, the transition from the game he loved to life afterward was difficult.
Manuel recalled what Murray and Schembechler meant to him when, after the 1987 season, during which Manuel started and made 33 tackles as a redshirt freshman defensive lineman, he was told his football career was over. Spinal stenosis was discovered in his neck area while physicians searched for the cause of the great pain Manuel was experiencing in his spine and arms.
"I'll never forget Bo's first words to me," Manuel said. "I was crying and Bo said, 'We're going to help you finish school. You're going to get your degree, and we'll do whatever it takes to help you get through this.' He forced me to come around and work in recruiting, keeping me around and taking me to the Rose Bowl my senior year."
Manuel went on to throw the javelin as a member of the track and field team. Murray was a standout safety in football from 1988 to 1990.
"Vada was the consummate teammate," said Manuel. "When I found out I wasn't going to be able to play anymore, the first person at the door to cry with me was Vada. I'll never forget Vada's response because he was Prop 48 our first year (having to sit out for academic reasons) and, with tears in both of our eyes, he said, 'Our first year, you took care of us, and you were there for me. And now, in this year, I'm going to be there for us and take care of you.'
"I got through it, but at the time it was the most devastating thing, to hear you can no longer play a sport you love. Life worked out, though it wasn't the way I envisioned it. I thought I'd play pro ball."
Just like he thought Murray would be there with him for years to come.
"The one thing about Vada is he loved deeply," said Manuel. "He either loved you deeply or didn't really know you. But he really cared deeply about people. I miss him terribly."
He also misses Schembechler, who died in 2006. Bo was part dad, part drill sergeant, and all in for Michigan.
What about him touched Manuel most?
"His love for us came through," said Manuel. "He had a desire for you to be better today than you were yesterday. As hard as he could be -- and there were days when he was very hard on all of us -- what I've always told my coaches is that Bo always loved and cared about us.
"Now, when he was yelling at you, you were thinking that he's not going to love you any more ever. But by the way he carried himself and his belief in speaking his mind, whether you agreed with him or not, you were getting the honest, straight-forward opinion. He was a well-read, high-character individual who cared deeply about his players and Michigan and everything about the school.
"You saw it every day, and he brought it every day. And there was the mantra he said and believed every day: 'The team, the team, the team, that no man is bigger than the team.' We all had a role in the success, and that always stayed with me. You don't have success without others helping you have it."
Manuel with softball coach Carol Hutchins
Manuel and men's basketball coach John Beilein
Berenson, the legendary Wolverine ice hockey coach, also impacted Manuel when he served as the team's administrator.
Manuel said: "I loved working with Red, and I give him credit, along with other coaches I worked for, for shaping my perspective on being a sports administrator. But Red was a big part of getting me to understand how to make a particular sport be successful and the level of detail required.
"For all the great things Red has accomplished as a coach, he's an even better person. He cares deeply about his student-athletes, not only while they're playing for him but in their lives. We have a lot of coaches who are like that, but Red epitomizes it; he lives it."
Berenson, 76, recently announced, after conferring with Manuel, that he will return for a 33rd season and take it one year at a time.
"I'm extremely happy he's continued coaching," said Manuel. "He still has a lot to offer."
Berenson also got Manuel on skates.
"I'll tell you a funny story," said Manuel. "He wanted his hockey administrators to put on skates and get on the ice. So, during one open skate, I hung onto the wall and went all around the rink at Yost once. Then I took the skates off and retired."
Manuel chuckled at the memory.
"We spent three or four years together, and he taught me the game of hockey along with Wally Grant and Al Renfrew (both members of the 1948 national champions)," said Manuel. "And I love it now. When Red was coaching, I was up there with Al and Wally learning the game."
Renfrew also coached Michigan's 1964 national champions and recruited Berenson. Grant was the heart and soul of the Dekers Blue Line Club for boosters, and together they had a 70-year association with Wolverine hockey before dying within five days of one another in November 2014.
Manuel is deeply rooted to the pioneers of Michigan athletics, including Hutchins, who recently became the all-time winningest college softball coach.
"We flooded her field, me and Vada Murray," Manuel said of their summer job as groundskeepers. "We turned the water on and were supposed to check it every hour. One of the pipes came loose, shaking from all the water going through. We came back, walked on the field, and it was, 'Squish, Squish.' We got a good chewing out from our supervisor but didn't have to water that field for another week.
"But I got to know Hutch quite well as an administrator. I've always marveled at her success, how she built the program from scratch. She is an unbelievable person and a terrific leader, who also is very connected to her former players. Her teams, athletically and academically, are tremendous."
• Part II: Compassion Guides Manuel in Michigan Journey (April 8)
