Mizzou expected to finalize new athletic director, Laird Veatch soon
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Mizzou is set to finalize its new athletic director, Laird Veatch soon after a two month search. Veatch is set to sigh a five-year contract with Mizzou after former athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois left for Arizona.
Veatch is no stranger to Columbia. In 1997, he was hired as the Director of Annual Giving & Development Coordinator. He served in various roles in the University of Missouri Athletic Department before leaving in 2002 to become the Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Operations at Iowa State.
A year later, he resumed working with Mizzou as the general manager for Learfield Sports, according to his bio. He became the Regional Vice President for Learfield Sports’ Heartland Division in 2006, a title he held until 2010, Memphis' website states.
Veatch has 25 years of experience that spans multiple conferences. He has made stops in the Big12 at Iowa State, University Texas, and played football under Bill Snyder at Kansas State prior to his career.
Under his leadership, Memphis became one of the first 10 schools in the country to hire a Director of Name, Image and Likeness. In September 2023, Memphis entered a partnership with Altius Sports Partners to develop an Athlete Services Department. At the time they were only the second school in the country to have a department dedicated to NIL.
