Outgoing Michigan athletic director Bill Martin calls final day bittersweet, but ready to move on

On his final day in office, Bill Martin celebrated 10 years at the helm of the Michigan athletic department with a free lunch.

On Monday, Martin will report to a new office as incoming athletic director and former Dominos CEO David Brandon moves in.

Martin jokes his car may not be prepared to stop at his new workspace at the Fleming Administration building on Michigan's central campus. But after weeks of counting down to Brandon's first day, Martin says he's ready to step aside.

"It was time," Martin said in an interview with AnnArbor.com during the first intermission of Saturday night's CCHA 6-0 Michigan playoff victory over Lake Superior State at Yost Ice Arena. "I agreed to stay for three years and then forgot how to count and three turned into 10."

Martin, who is widely credited with stabilizing Michigan's athletic budget and overseeing a collection of facility projects - including the $226 million renovation of Michigan Stadium - said Saturday's he's most proud of the leadership team he's helped to put into place.

He'll officially retire in September when he turns 70. Until then, he'll work overseeing the final stages of the Michigan Stadium project while also assisting in the department's fund-raising efforts.

Martin spent part of his Saturday meeting with Brandon, who was named as Martin's successor earlier this year.

Martin, an avid sailor, said he plans to do plenty of traveling after his tenure at Michigan wraps up in September. Until then, he said he'll remain a mainstay at Wolverines athletic events, content with his decade-long body of work.