Athletic directors on the move

The departure of 10 schools from the Pac-12 — effective Aug. 2 — fueled a busy year of changes in the world of Division I athletic directors. Power Four and Pac-12 schools made up a dozen of the 57 Division I ADs (21%) who began — or are about to begin — their current position since July 1, 2023. Power Five schools made up seven of the 43 Division I ADs changes (16%) from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. In the 12 months prior to that, the group made up 18% of the changes.

— Compiled by David Broughton

Jennifer Cohen

START DATE: Aug. 23, 2023

SCHOOL (CONFERENCE): USC (Big Ten)

PREVIOUSLY: AD, Washington (since June 2016)

PREDECESSOR: Mike Bohn (2019-23)

Trev Alberts

START DATE: March 18

SCHOOL (CONFERENCE): Texas A&M (SEC)

PREVIOUSLY: AD, Nebraska (since April 2009)

PREDECESSOR: Ross Bjork (June 2019-Jan. 2024)

Laird Veatch

START DATE: May 1

SCHOOL (CONFERENCE): Missouri (SEC)

PREVIOUSLY: AD, Memphis (since Oct. 2019)

PREDECESSOR: Desireé Reed-Francois (Aug. 2021-Feb. 2024)

Troy Dannen

START DATE: Oct. 19, 2023

SCHOOL (CONFERENCE): Washington (Big Ten)

PREVIOUSLY: AD, Tulane (since Dec. 2015)

PREDECESSOR: Jennifer Cohen (June 2016-Aug. 2023)

Troy Dannen

START DATE: March 20

SCHOOL (CONFERENCE): Nebraska (Big Ten)

PREVIOUSLY: AD, Washington (since Oct. 2023)

PREDECESSOR: Trev Alberts (April 2009-March 2024)

Graham Rossini

START DATE: June 1

SCHOOL (CONFERENCE): Arizona State (Big 12)

PREVIOUSLY: At ASU since 2021; chief business officer since Feb. 2023

PREDECESSOR: Ray Anderson (Jan. 2014-Nov. 2023)

Beth Goetz

START DATE: Jan. 18

SCHOOL (CONFERENCE): Iowa (Big Ten)

PREVIOUSLY: Deputy AD and COO since Sept. 2022 and interim AD, Aug. 2023-Jan. 2024

PREDECESSOR: Gary Barta (Aug. 2006-Aug. 2023)

Pete Bevacqua

START DATE: March 25

SCHOOL (CONFERENCE): Notre Dame (ACC [independent in football])

PREVIOUSLY: Chairman, NBC Sports Group (2018-23); special assistant to the AD (since July 2023)

PREDECESSOR: Jack Swarbrick (July 2008-March 2024)

Ross Bjork

START DATE: July 1

SCHOOL (CONFERENCE): Ohio State (Big Ten)

PREVIOUSLY: AD, Texas A&M (since June 2019)

PREDECESSOR: Gene Smith (April 2005-June 2024)

Desireé Reed-Francois

START DATE: March 4

SCHOOL (CONFERENCE): Arizona (Big 12)

PREVIOUSLY: AD, Missouri (since Aug. 2021)

PREDECESSOR: Dave Heeke (since Feb. 2017)

Pat Chun

START DATE: March 27

SCHOOL (CONFERENCE): Washington (Big Ten)

PREVIOUSLY: AD, Washington State (since Feb. 2018)

PREDECESSOR: Troy Dannen (Oct. 2023-March 2024)

Anne McCoy

START DATE: July 16

SCHOOL (CONFERENCE): Washington State (Pac-12)

PREVIOUSLY: At WSU since 2001, most recently as senior deputy director of athletics and senior woman administrator

PREDECESSOR: Pat Chun (Feb. 2018-March 2024)

Other takeaways from data around athletic directors:

15 — Division I schools without an athletic director as of press time, a vacancy rate that is consistent with the 15 years that SBJ has been tracking such movement.

16 — ADs of the 57 who left their job since July 1, 2023, cited retirement as the reason. Jeff Altier, who began his association with Stetson as a student athlete in 1980, retired as AD in March after 27 years in that position, the longest any of this year’s retirees had been AD at a single school.

3 — ADs who left the college sports: David Herbster, at South Dakota since 2013, is the lead community relations specialist for Sanford Health in Sioux Falls; Brad Teague, Central Arkansas’ AD since 2007, is the director of the school’s Aviation Academy; and Arizona State’s Ray Anderson, at the helm since 2014, is professor of practice and senior adviser at ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.