Arizona to hire Missouri Athletics Director Desireé Reed-Francois as new AD

Arizona is hiring Missouri Athletics Director Desireé Reed-Francois as its new AD, the university has announced. She will begin with the Wildcats on March 3.

Reed-Francois has ties to Arizona as she graduated from law school there in 1997.

She has been at Missouri since 2021, after previously serving as the UNLV AD from 2017-2021.

“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,” Arizona President Robert C. Robbins said.

“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.”

Desireé Reed-Francois has the task of leading Arizona into the Big 12, beginning in 2024-25. Her deal is for five years, with a starting salary of $1 million. It will continue to elevate to a number of $1.2 million in Year 5.

Reed-Francois is described in the Arizona press release as “an accomplished fundraiser and relationship builder” who “has transformed two collegiate athletic departments into high-performing, cost-effective operations.”

She has big plans for the University of Arizona.

“There are very few institutions that would entice me to leave an SEC athletics department with strong momentum,” Reed-Francois said in a statement. “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.”

Reed-Francois hired six head coaches during her time at Missouri and excelled with fundraising efforts. She secured the largest gift in Missouri Athletics history with a donation of $62 million during her time in Columbia.

Prior to working at Missouri, Reed-Francois completed or implemented more than $70 million in facility upgrades and hired seven head coaches.

Reed-Francois has also spent time at Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Cincinnati. Arizona is finishing up its time in the Pac-12 with the conclusion of the 2023-24 athletics season, before moving to the Big 12 for 2024-25.