Arizona to hire Desireé Reed-Francois as next athletic director
TUCSON — The University of Arizona is expected to hire Desireé Reed-Francois as its next athletic director. Reed-Francois has reportedly agreed to a five-year contract, pending approval from the Arizona Board of Regents.
Reed-Francois is the first woman in UA history to serve as a full-time athletic director.
Reed-Francos graduated from the James E. Rogers College of Law at the UA in 1997. Reed-Francois leaves her athletic director post at Missouri in the SEC after nearly three years in Columbia. She will start at Arizona on March 3.
"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," said UA president Robert C. Robbins in a released 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."
Reed-Francois replaces former UA athletic director Dave Heeke, who held the job since 2017 and was fired last month amid the university's financial crisis. The Arizona athletic department has yet to fully repay the $55 million loan from the university during the COVID-19 pandemic. Former longtime Arizona softball coach Mike Candrea has been the UA's interim athletic director since Heeke's dismissal.
Reed-Francois will have an annual base salary of $1 million in her first year, elevating to $1.2 million in the fifth year; there's also an additional $250,000 annual contribution from the University of Arizona Foundation.
"There are very few institutions that would entice me to leave an SEC athletics department with strong momentum," said Reed-Francois. "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."
According to her Missouri bio, Reed-Francois increased football season ticket sales and premium revenue by 200% and 70%. She previously spent four years as UNLV's athletic director. She's the first Hispanic female athletic director in FBS history.
At UNLV, Reed-Francois helped raise $60 million in a development drive, resulting in an $8 million estate gift, the largest estate gift in school history. Reed-Francois helped UNLV rake in more than $70 million for facility upgrades, and hired seven head coaches; three Rebel coaches received Mountain West Coach of the Year honors under her direction.
Reed-Francois previously held a deputy athletics director role at Virginia Tech, overseeing daily operations for the football program and athletic department. She was also an associate athletic director at Cincinnati, and assisted in basketball operations at Tennessee. She has also worked at Fresno State University, Santa Clara University, San Jose State University, Cal and the University of San Francisco.
Reed-Francois was also vice chair of the NCAA Baseball Selection Committee and was a member of the College Football Playoff operations committee.
Reed-Francois will hold an introductory news conference at Arizona Stadium on Tuesday at 9 a.m.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona to hire Desiree Reed-Francois as next AD
