After a tumultuous month for Arizona Athletics, highlighted by the ousting of former athletic director Dave Heeke, Arizona has found its new leader to run the athletics department and guide it through the transition to the Big 12. Arizona has officially appointed Desireé Reed-Francois as the Director of Athletics, with her tenure set to begin on March 3.
Reed-Francois is set to become the first full-time female athletic director in the history of Arizona Athletics, and returns to Tucson after earning her juris doctorate from Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law in 1997.
Prior to her appointment as Arizona’s newest AD, Reed-Francois served in the same role at the University of Missouri since 2021. During her tenure, she helped the Tigers finish with a top 10 football program in 2023, hired six head coaches, and helped cultivate five straight semesters of record student-athlete GPAs. Financially, she helped oversee Mizzou’s first budget surplus in six years, opened the Stephens Indoor Football Practice Center, and secured the largest gift in Missouri Athletics history of $62 million.
“There are very few institutions that would entice me to leave an SEC athletics department with strong momentum,” said Reed-Francois in a statement on Monday morning. “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.”
Per university release, the terms of Reed-Francois’ contract include a five-year deal with a $1 million base salary, which elevates to $1.2 million in year five of the contract. She will also have the “opportunity for additional incentive compensation based on the department’s athletic and academic success, as well as retention bonuses after four and five years of employment with the University.” The release also states that any retention bonus or buyout expenses for Reed-Francois will be fully covered by donor funds, and that funds have also been secured to cover the full payout costs of former Arizona AD Dave Heeke.
Prior to her time at Missouri, Reed-Francois served as the Director of Athletics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) from 2017-2021. During her time in Las Vegas, she oversaw more than $70 million in facility upgrades, hired seven head coaches, and negotiated the joint-use agreement between the Rebels and the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders with the opening of Allegiant Stadium.
Before becoming the athletics director in Columbia and Las Vegas, Reed-Francois also had stints at Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, and Tennessee, all in senior leadership roles. She also spent time at Fresno State, Santa Clara, San Jose State, Cal, and San Francisco, as well as the then Oakland Raiders and NFL Management Council.
“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 Arizona President Robert Robbins. “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 will be formally introduced as Arizona’s Director of Athletics on Tuesday, February 20, at 9 AM MST.