Photo gallery: University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel speaks to the media

University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel answers questions from the media during a meeting in his office at the university on Friday, July 18, 2014. Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News

ANN ARBOR -- University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel released a statement about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, addressing the athletic department's mismanagement of the injuries quarterback Shane Morris suffered during Saturday's loss to Minnesota.

"As the leader of our university community, I want to express my extreme disappointment in the events surrounding the handling of an on-field injury to one of our football players, Shane Morris," Schlissel wrote.

"The health and safety of our entire student community, including all of our student-athletes, is my most important responsibility as university president."

Schlissel went on to say that he has been in regular discussion with athletic director Dave Brandon and the Board of Regents about the incident and the way it was handled, and that he supports immediate protocol changes that the department's initial assessment has identified.

"I have instructed the Athletic Department to provide me, the Board of Regents, and other campus leaders with a thorough review of our in-game player safety procedures, particularly those involving head injuries, and will involve experts from the University of Michigan Health System in assessing its medical aspects," Schlissel said.

"Despite having one of the finest levels of team medical expertise in the country, our system failed on Saturday. We did not get this right and for this I apologize to Shane, his family, his teammates, and the entire Michigan family."

Schlissel, who is dealing with the first major athletic ordeal of his tenure, said this incident is a critical lesson to leadership about how vigilant and disciplined they have to be to ensure student-athlete safety.

"As president, I will take all necessary steps to make sure that occurs and to enforce the necessary accountability for our success in this regard," he said.

"Our communications going forward will be direct, transparent and timely. The University of Michigan stands for the highest level of excellence in everything we do, on and off the field. That standard will guide my review of this situation and all the University's future actions."

He added: "My thanks go to the many members of the university community who have taken the time to express their thoughts."