COLUMBIA, Mo. — University of Missouri-Columbia Athletic Director Desireé Reed-Francois is leaving to take the same job at her alma mater, the University of Arizona.
The University of Arizona confirmed media reports Monday by announcing a five-year contract for Reed-Francois.
Reed-Francois was picked to replace Jim Sterk back in 2021 after Sterk and the university mutually agreed to part ways. Her hiring made Reed-Francois the first female athletic director at a public SEC school.
Before making the move to Missouri, Reed-Francois was the AD at UNLV from 2017-2021 and, according to UNLV, was the first Hispanic and woman of color to be named an athletic director at an FBS school.
"As I write this letter, my heart is filled with gratitude and nostalgia, reflecting on the incredible journey we've shared together at Missouri," Reed-Francois said in a letter emailed to supporters Monday. "It is with mixed emotions that I announce that I am stepping down as your Director of Athletics, bidding farewell to the remarkable community that has made my time here so enriching."
Reed-Francois earned a juris doctorate from the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law in 1997.
The University of Arizona will hold an introductory press conference for Reed-Francois Tuesday morning.
The press release announcing her hiring touted her fundraising acumen and highlighted a $62 million gift she secured for the University of Missouri earlier this month.
Reed-Francois and her husband, Josh Francois, have a son, Jackson, who is currently a sophomore on the men's basketball team at the University of Missouri.
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