When Desireé Reed-Francois was hired as Arizona's athletic director in early 2024, she was considered a newbie in the AD business, even though she had spent nearly seven years combined as the AD at UNLV and Missouri.
The AD world has changed mightily in the 2½ years since Reed-Francois arrived in Tucson. Now each school is working to raise $20.5 million a year to compete in the game's revenue-sharing process. The chase for money has never approached the intensity of today's Big 12 fundraisers.
Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois stops by football media day at Davis Sports Center, Aug. 4, 2026.
I think that's why five Big 12 schools saw a change in athletic directors in the last two years. The job description became more about money than student-athletes. Reed-Francois will be ranked No. 7 in seniority among league ADs when Iowa State's Jamie Pollard retires.
The AD newbies since Reed-Francois' hiring are: TCU's Mike Buddie, on the job for 20 months; Baylor's Doug McNamee, on the job nine months; Colorado's Fernando Lovo, on the job nearly eight months; BYU's Brian Santiago, on the job 15 months; Houston's Eddie Nuñez, on the job two years, and ASU's Graham Rossini, on the job two-plus years.
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The league's senior AD is Texas Tech's Kirby Hocutt at 15 years, followed by KSU's Gene Taylor at 10 years.
Former Arizona assistant AD Mark Harlan, who is in his ninth year at Utah, is now No. 3 in seniority in the Big 12.
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