Greg Byrne won't be the next athletic director at Florida.
The Wildcats' AD told the Star's Greg Hansen this week that he'll "remain at Arizona" despite receiving interest from the Gators, who must replace the retiring Jeremy Foley. The Florida job is considered to be one of the best in America, in part because of the pay involved. Foley's contract called for him to be paid up to $1.2 million per year, according to USA Today. Byrne's base salary is $600,000, roughly half of what Foley makes.
Florida "reached out to me,” Byrne told Hansen, “but I’ll remain at Arizona.”
The 44-year-old Byrne is viewed by many as a star in his profession, in part because of his fundraising acumen and connection with fans. Under Byrne's aegis, the UA has renovated McKale Center and built the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility. Byrne wants to renovate the aging Arizona Stadium next. Byrne has hired football coach Rich Rodriguez and helped retain Sean Miller after the basketball coach was pursued by Maryland. Byrne's choices of baseball coach Jay Johnson and soccer coach Tony Amato have been widely praised; Johnson led the Wildcats to this summer's College World Series national championship game.
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Read more Byrne and the Wildcats in Hansen's Sunday Notebook, which is linked here .
