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Jon Sanderson, Michigan basketball’s longtime strength and conditioning coach and key figure on the staff of two Final Four teams, has officially parted ways with the university after 15 years with the program.
The university confirmed Sanderson’s departure in a statement to The Athleticsaying, “Jon Sanderson has resigned from his position with the University of Michigan Athletic Department, effective March 1. We appreciate Jon’s contributions over the years and wish him the best in the future.”
Sanderson’s departure comes after reaching an agreement with the university, two sources briefed on the deal said. That agreement includes a confidentiality clause, those sources said.
Sanderson’s departure comes after a Dec. 7 confrontation with Michigan head coach Juwan Howard that resulted in Sanderson no longer working with the men’s basketball program. Sanderson spent the last 12 weeks working at the athletic department’s south campus complex, primarily with some of the school’s Olympic sports teams.
Sanderson’s attorney referred all questions to the university. A text message sent to Sanderson was not immediately returned.
Sanderson filed additional complaints about the program’s culture under Howard unrelated to the Dec. 7 incident, a source briefed on the matter said.
That confrontation between Howard and Sanderson arose from a disagreement between an athletic trainer and senior guard Jace Howard, Juwan’s 22-year-old son. At the time, Jace Howard had missed the entire season with a stress fracture and disputed that the training staff had not yet cleared him to play.
On December 8, according to documents obtained by The AthleticSanderson shared his version of the events that followed in an email to Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel.
Sanderson wrote that Jace Howard “was berating” the coach and caused a “scene” that caused several players to stop and stare. Sanderson described the scene as “totally out of control” and said the coach was trying to calm Jace Howard down and get him to discuss the matter privately. Noticing that the coach was appearing increasingly desperate and “panicked,” Sanderson intervened and yelled at Howard from about 30 feet away: “you’re a student-athlete and he’s a professional. You don’t talk like that to a professional. That is a lack of respect and a right.” He said he repeated that the tirade was “disrespectful.”
Sanderson wrote in the email to Manuel that he tried to calm the situation by turning his back on him and walking away. When Sanderson looked back, he said Juwan Howard approached him, “angry and ready to fight,” yelling repeatedly as players and staff restrained him.
“He continued to pursue me aggressively to fight, while the players and staff did everything they could to restrain him. He was out of control, it was an ugly scene. I had no choice but to stand my ground, I didn’t back down. “Some players and staff also got in front of me in an effort to keep us apart,” Sanderson wrote.
Sanderson wrote that the players and staff were finally able to restrain Howard, after which the team began practice and Sanderson went to his office.
Manuel emailed Sanderson a response a day later, on Dec. 10, writing, “I’m sorry to hear about the negative interaction between you and Juwan,” and stating that Tiffany Raymond, UM’s assistant athletic director for human resources, would be launching a review of the incident the following day (December 11) “to obtain more details and offer support.” Manuel also informed Sanderson that she would “speak directly to Juwan.”
Among the emails obtained by The Athleticone from Raymond on December 15 states that Sanderson would be given the option of meeting with Howard and human resources officials to “openly share past frustrations and concerns in an effort to clear the air and start anew” or a “transition to support other Olympic Games.” teams permanently.”
Sanderson told Raymond that he intended to remain in the basketball program and chose to participate in a facilitation session. In that email, Sanderson said his superior told him to avoid team facilities and that Manuel did not want him to have contact with student-athletes on the men’s basketball team; Sanderson said he wanted to ensure that no false statements were made to the media or the public about his absence.
“No one should indicate that they are voluntary,” Sanderson wrote.
On December 15, following a Human Resources review, the university cleared Howard of any wrongdoing in the Sanderson incident. In a statement, Manuel said the university reviewed “an incident involving multiple individuals during a team practice” and, “based on a thorough internal review, nothing was found to warrant disciplinary action for those involved.”
Howard has never publicly shared his account of the event. He told reporters to only refer to Manuel’s statement and said: “I think it was clear. “It was precise.”
Sanderson came to Michigan in 2009 and joined John Beilein’s staff as a strength and conditioning coach. He became a mainstay of the program, working with 17 NBA Draft picks, including 11 first-round picks. He was one of the few remnants of Beilein’s staff when Howard was hired in 2019.
Mike Favre, Michigan’s director of strength and conditioning, has replaced Sanderson on the bench since December.
Sanderson, who played at Ohio State (1997-99) and Ohio (2000-02), is one of the most recognized strength coaches in college basketball and will likely be heavily pursued by other programs during the offseason. His son, Jonathan Sanderson, a 6-foot-2 guard, is ranked among the top 50 players in the recruiting class of 2026. Jonathan is currently a sophomore at Saline High School, outside Ann Arbor, and has scholarship offers from numerous high-profile programs, including Michigan.
Michigan imposed a zero-tolerance policy on Howard following a postgame altercation following a loss to Wisconsin in February 2022. After that game, Howard exchanged words with Wisconsin coach Greg Gard at the scrimmage line. hands postgame, resulting in a skirmish during which Howard hit. Badgers assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft in the lead.
Howard, 51, is 87-69 overall and 49-46 in Big Ten play at Michigan, including a Big Ten regular-season title and an Elite Eight appearance in 2021.
Howard missed significant time earlier this season following heart surgery in September. In November, he returned to the UM bench as an assistant to Phil Martelli, who served as the program’s interim head coach during Howard’s recovery.
Howard has a contract that runs through the 2025-26 season and was last extended in November 2021.
(Photo: Hannah Fountain / CameraSport via Getty Images)