The wife of one of the world’s richest men is secretly a power broker for Michigan athletics whose alleged influence in disgraced ex-football coach Sherrone Moore’s firing became a he-said, she-said.
Jolin Ellison, the sixth wife of Oracle co-founder and billionaire Larry Ellison, is a 2012 international studies graduate of the Ann Arbor-based school, and she and her husband are one of the school’s largest Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) contributors at roughly $10 million, per the Wall Street Journal.
Moore told a colleague following a meeting with athletic director Warde Manuel after a 24-22 win over Northwestern on Nov. 15 that Jolin would not continue to donate if the coach did not receive a pink slip.
Jolin denied that accusation.
“I was contributing to Michigan athletics at the time and continued afterward, regardless of the change in head coach,” she told the publication.
Moore would ultimately be fired Dec. 10 for an alleged affair with staffer Paige Shriver, and would later be arrested on charges of home invasion, stalking and breaking and entering.
Jolin acknowledged that she did meet with Manuel weeks before Moore’s firing to tell him she believed he should not be the coach should the rumors be proven true.
CBS Sports reported last year that the alleged affair involving Moore and Shriver was the “worst-kept secret” around the program.
Manuel did not comment to the WSJ about the allegations.
Moore also alleged to former colleagues that Jolin liked to be involved with the team to an unusual extent, allegedly telling them she “frequently called and texted him.”
Ex-staffers told the outlet that Jolin reached out more than any other booster.
Moore reportedly became so miffed by the development that he made one staffer her go-to contact, and she allegedly conversed about the team’s play.
Jolin countered that she sent Moore three texts between September and December of last year: two congratulatory messages after wins and one other unspecified note. She told the outlet she may have called him once.
“I certainly did not question or advise any Michigan coaches about in-game play-calling after every game,” she told the publication.
Jolin’s influence within the football program goes back even further.
Her foray into booster status reportedly began during Michigan’s 2023 champion season when she emailed the school’s NIL group, Champions Circle.
She later received credit for helping flip former No. 1 prospect Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood from LSU in 2024 for an NIL deal worth at least $10 million.
The Wall Street Journal said that deal is worth $3 million per season and that recruiting win was considered transformational for the program.
After Michigan landed Underwood, Champions Circle thanked Jolin.
Michigan is spending roughly $36 million-40 million on its 2026 roster, according to The Athletic, which ranks inside the top 15 in the sport.
“We are very excited to keep Bryce home in Michigan as he continues to build his legacy,” Champions Circle said in a December 2024 statement. “I want to personally thank Larry and his wife Jolin who were instrumental in making this happen by providing Champions Circle with invaluable guidance and financial resources.
“Jolin, a proud Michigan alum, shared ‘I am a big fan of the University of Michigan and Michigan Athletics. We are excited to support our student-athletes, so they can go compete at the highest level in college sports.’”
Jolin has also aided the national-title winning men’s basketball team, reportedly donating $1 million to the team’s approximate $12 million budget last year.
Forrmer coach Dusty May — now the head coach of the Mavericks — told the WSJ that Jolin asked him about recruiting and team development during an event at her family’s Florida estate earlier this year.
Former Michigan staffers told the publication that she helped land other Michigan stars, hosted young players for workout and food and even texted feedback to employees.
“The coaches decide which players they want, how they want to run the team,” Jolin told the Wall Street Journal, “and we as Michigan supporters help support their efforts.”
Champions Circle co-founder and CEO Jared Wangler lauded Jolin for her efforts.
“A woman without a traditional athletics background becoming actively involved in a part of college sports historically dominated by older white men should be celebrated, not viewed with suspicion,” he told the outlet. “I hope her example inspires more people from different backgrounds to get involved.”
Beyond donations to the school’s elite athletic department, Jolin has taken on an important behind-the-scenes roll that has her among the who’s who of Wolverines backers.
Larry, the world’s seventh-richest person with a net worth of $192 billion, per Forbes, reportedly held a May barbecue at his Palm Beach County, Fla. estate that featured prominent Michigan figures.
Jolin hosted a meeting that day that included Larry, Manuel, board of regents members and the school’s top donor, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, per the WSJ.
Regent Michael Behm told the outlet that Jolin proposed creating what the Wall Street Journal described as “a semi-independent entity to pay the university for the use of certain assets, such as premium seating, as a way to raise revenue for athletes.”
They also reportedly discussed placing more premium seating within Michigan Stadium, the home of the football team, and the Crisler Center, the home of the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Behm told the publication that as a public university, though, Michigan does not sell university assets in such manners.
That Jolin would be pitching such ideas shows how fast she has risen in quick time after leaving China to attend the Big Ten school earlier this century.
Jolin told the outlet that sports did not have much of a hold on her in her younger days, but they grew on her after beginning college.
Larry has no known ties to the university aside from his wife, per the outlet.
“I went to my first Michigan football game in Ann Arbor, and for some mysterious reason, I fell in love with it,” she told the WSJ.
She added: “I’m a fan, not a coach or an investor. I support Michigan because I want the team to win—not because I expect anything in return.”
