Former Missouri Tigers athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois has been named Arizona's 11th athletic director, the program announced Monday.
After parting ways with former athletic director Dave Heeke 28 days ago, Arizona president Robert C. Robbins' search led him to Reed-Francois, who becomes the first female athletic director in the history of the department.
"There are very few institutions that would entice me to leave an SEC athletics department with strong momentum," Reed-Francois said in a statement provided by the school. "The University of Arizona has tremendous potential and is an institution — and an athletics program — on the rise, and I want to be a part of shaping that future. We will provide a world-class student-athlete experience, which includes competing for championships and being among the nation's elite.
I am grateful to President Robbins and the Arizona Board of Regents for this incredible opportunity."
The contract for Reed-Francois will be a 5-year deal with an annual base salary of $1 million in Year 1 of the contract, which will increase to $1.2 million by the final year of the term with an additional $250,000 annual contribution from the University of Arizona Foundation.
The deal will also have incentive opportunities for Reed-Francois to add to her salary based on future athletic and academic success within the program. Her buyout at Mizzou and the buyout for Heeke will be covered by donor funds.
Before becoming an AD at multiple universities, Reed-Francois went to the University of Arizona and graduated in 1997 with a law degree from the James E. Rogers College of Law. She was also a rower at UCLA where she earned a degree in political science.
During Reed-Francois' three-year run at Missouri, she was able to increase football season ticket sales and revenue by 200% and 70%, while getting a new apparel agreement with Nike, according to her profile on Missouri athletics website.
"We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Desireé to the University of Arizona family, and we could not be more excited about the leadership experience and outstanding credentials she brings," Robbins said in a statement. "Respected nationally for her commitment to student-athletes, Desireé has a history of success everywhere she's served and is exactly the right person we need to modernize our athletics operations and usher in an ongoing culture of success in all aspects of Athletics. This is a tremendous win for our university and I cannot wait for her to get started."
One thing that Reed-Francois will be facing is the deficit that the athletics department is in, which it has yet to get over the $55 million lone it received from the university due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Arizona will hold an introductory press conference on Tuesday at 9 a.m. (MST), officially making Reed-Francois the next athletic director. She will step into her new role March 3 to begin her duties at UA.
Former Wildcats softball coach Mike Candrea has been serving as the interim since Heeke's tenure came to an end earlier this month.
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