AD option: Tim Selgo, GVSU

One interesting option I haven't seen mentioned for UM Athletic Director is Tim Selgo, the AD at Grand Valley State University since 1996.

• Runs a consistently successful DII athletic department: 150 conference championships in 18 years. (They had 45 before he arrived.)
• Consistent excellence across multiple sports -- GVSU won the DII Director's Cup nine of the last 11 years.
• Actual scholar-athlete rather than Dave Brandon benchwarmer: Four-year basketball letterman at Toledo, team captain, two NCAA tournament appearances.
• Former head women's basketball coach, Toledo
• Former associate AD, Toledo
• Former chair of the DII Management Council

You've got a guy here who is in-state already, has proven he can run an excellent athletic department from the sports side of things, is respected among his AD peers, is a former coach and player so he can talk to those constituencies in their own language and has a great reputation among his stakeholders. I asked a colleague who went to GVSU what he thought of Selgo and whether he'd do well at Michigan and his response was essentially "Don't you dare take him, we love him."

Potential downsides are whether or not he can manage the big-ticket sponsorship things and absorb the "You're not a Michigan Man" abuse, but the former is clearly not where our issues lie and the latter goes away if he starts undoing some of the Brandon gimcrackery and wallet-wringing.

Yes, I think Warde Manuel and Brad Bates are still the obvious choices, but this guy seems like a legitimate consideration if there needs to be a Plan B.