Arizona taps Mizzou AD Reed-Francois as AD

The Univ. of Arizona has hired Missouri AD  Desireé Reed-Francois as its next AD. Reed-Francois has agreed to a "five-year contract, pending approval from the Arizona Board of Regents." Her annual base salary will be $1M in her first year, elevating to $1.2M in the fifth year, and there also is an additional $250,000 annual contribution from the Univ. of Arizona Foundation. Reed-Francois, an SBJ Game Changers honoree in 2021 , will start at UA on March 3, becoming the first woman in school history to serve as full-time AD. She replaces former UA AD Dave Heeke , who was " fired last month amid the university's financial crisis " ( ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 2/19 ).

Reed-Francois's departure is a "shocking loss for MU," as she has been "widely credited with generating considerable momentum around Mizzou Athletics." But recently, school leadership "established an oversight committee to monitor Mizzou Athletics, a possible point of friction between Reed-Francois and upper-level administrators." Her UA salary is a pay cut from the $1.25M she was making under the terms of a contract extension signed with MU, which will be due a buyout worth approximately $2.5M ( ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/19 ).