Michigan A.D. to retire next year

By ASSOCIATED PRESS Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — University of Michigan athletic director Bill Martin, who helped launch a pair of multimillion-dollar renovations to campus facilities and brought in new coaches for the football and men’s basketball programs, will retire next year.

The 69-year-old Martin will step down effective Sept. 4, 2010, the school said Wednesday.

Martin, a former president of the United States Sailing Association, became director of athletics at Michigan in 2000 on an interim basis, replacing Tom Goss. His retirement was announced in a letter to university President Mary Sue Coleman and then at a meeting with athletics staff.

“Being the Michigan AD is not just a job, it’s a way of life and one I have embraced full force,” Martin wrote.

Martin said they had discussed his retirement for several years and he had agreed to remain while renovations to Michigan Stadium were ongoing. That project is scheduled to be finished by August 2010, and another major project, a $23.2 million basketball practice facility next to Crisler Arena, was approved in January by the Board of Regents.

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