Report: Arizona set to name Desiree Reed-Francois new AD

Field Level Media|published: Mon 19th February, 13:24 2024

University of Missouri Curator Daryl Chatman, left, and System President Mun Choi present new athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois with a jersey Wednesday after she was formally introduced at the Walsworth Family Columns Club. 20210811 033a Mu Athletic Director Reed Francois Press Conf credits: Don Shrubshell/Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

Arizona is set to name Missouri athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois to the same position in Tucson, ESPN reported Monday.

Reed-Francois will sign a five-year contract with Arizona, per the report. She would replace Dave Heeke, who was fired last month after seven years and reportedly leaving the athletic department in dire straits.

Arizona is facing a deficit of $177 million, in part due to more than $80 million the athletics department has borrowed from the university, according to ESPN. Part of the issue was a $55 million loan received amid the COVID pandemic that the university was having trouble paying off.

Reed-Francois, who graduated from Arizona law school in 1997, turned Missouri's athletics operating deficit into a $15 million surplus in 2022, in part due to her fundraising prowess, per the report. Reed-Francois will also oversee Arizona's transition from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 in the 2024-25 academic year.

Reed-Francois, 51, has been at Missouri since 2021 after working as the AD at UNLV from 2017-21.

Arizona fired Heeke one week after he hired Brent Brennan as the Wildcats' football coach on Jan. 16 to replace Jedd Fisch, who left to take the Washington job.

According to the Action Network, Heeke was let go because of "financial & operational mismanagement, resulting in an athletic department financial 'disaster,' loss of major donors & mishandling of former (football) coach Jedd Fisch's contract."

—Field Level Media