COLUMBIA, Mo. — The University of Missouri athletic department made a seismic move over the weekend, hiring UNLV athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois to fill the same role in Columbia. She’s the first woman to lead the Tigers’ athletic department.
Jim Sterk and the school announced last month that he was going to step down as athletic director once a successor was found. With that transition underway, Tigers football coach Eliah Drinkwitz — hired by Sterk after the 2019 season — talked highly of the school’s new AD.
“I want to say welcome to Desiree,” Drinkwitz said. “I’m excited about the choice that our president and curators brought in, and I look forward to getting to work with her and continuing our goals and raising the profile of Mizzou Athletics. (We’re) working with her as a team, but also for our goal of competing for championships here.”
Drinkwitz said he doesn’t know Reed-Francois personally but is impressed by her body of work. That includes her previous AD role at UNLV, associate AD roles at the likes of Fresno State, Tennessee and Cincinnati and a three-year stint as deputy athletic director at Virginia Tech.
Reed-Francois, 49, is now one of three women of color (her mother is Mexican) to currently hold an AD post. She’s also the first woman to occupy such a role at a public Southeastern Conference institution.
Those facts could be part of the reason why Drinkwitz believes she’s poised to bring a unique voice to the school’s athletics department.
“Very excited about what she’s going to bring to the table,” the coach said. “I think any time you have a fresh perspective and fresh eyes and ideas, it’s an opportunity for all of us to grow and learn. Obviously, she’s got great experience within the SEC before … looking forward to partnering with her to push this program forward.”
The University of Missouri System’s board of curators will meet Tuesday to approve Reed-Francois’ contract. Terms are currently unknown. MU still owes Sterk the remainder of his contract — about $1.5 million — per a “Transition Agreement and Release” document obtained by The Star last month.
Sterk hired Drinkwitz away from Appalachian State in December 2019 after firing former coach Barry Odom. Drinkwitz went 5-5 in his first season playing an SEC-only schedule wrought by the pandemic.
When asked about his relationship with Sterk, Drinkwitz was effusive in his praise. Drinkwitz thanked Sterk for hiring him and securing needed funding for the school’s new $33.4 million indoor practice facility, which is scheduled to open late next year.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Jim Sterk,” Drinkwitz said. “Obviously, I owe him a lot for him bringing me here to Missouri and have a tremendous amount of respect for what he did for our program.
“Wish him all the best and know that we’ll have a friendship and a relationship moving forward, and also opening my heart for a new opportunity with a new AD and working together. I mean, that’s just part of the business and part of life.”
