ANN ARBOR — Dave Brandon it out as the University of Michigan athletic director.

Michigan President Mark Schlissel announced at a 1:30 press conference that Brandon offered his resignation Friday morning  and that it is effective immediately.

Earlier reports had Brandon resigning effective at the end of the football season.

Jim Hackett, also a Michigan alum and former Brandon teammate on the Wolverine football team, was named interim athletic director. He will assist Schlissel in the hiring of a permanent athletic director.

Schlissel said there is no timetable in hiring Brandon’s assistant.

“Dave feels that it would be in the best interest of our student-athletes, our athletic department and our university community if he moved on,” Schlissel said. “I agree with this decision.”

Brandon became Michigan’s athletic director in 2010. He is credited with helping the athletic program maintain solid financial stability as well as improving many of the athletic facilities.

However, with growing unrest among Wolverines fans and alumni over the football program and its coach Brady Hoke, he has come under fire by many, including Schlissel, who said Brandon has led an athletic department that has been disconnected from its fan base.

Brandon has also been criticized for raising student ticket prices by 23 percent. The outcry was so great and the public displays of fan outrage forced Brandon to lower the prices to $175 last month.

The final straw may have come when emails between Brandon and fans were uncovered where he responded to criticism of the football program contentiously.

When asked about the report, Brandon responded “nonsense,” as he left the Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Recognition Dinner Tuesday night.

Schlissel, who took several questions following the announcement, refused to talk about the future of Hoke and the football program.

Although he did say that he expect teams to strive for excellence and be competitive.

So far this season, the Wolverine team has done neither.