Mizzou Basketball’s first-ever general manager ready to embrace new role

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mizzou Men's Basketball has introduced its first general manager in program history.

Tim Fuller, who was officially named the team's general manager on June 2, met with the media on Saturday afternoon to detail the vision that the program has for the new position and his journey back to the university.

The Wake Forest graduate will be responsible for helping with a variety of tasks as general manager, including strategic planning, roster construction and emphasizing alumni engagement, agent relations and NIL optimization. Fuller has already outlined a 100-day plan with the team, which will focus on relationship-building with the players, agents and assisting with talent evaluation.

At Saturday's press conference, Fuller described the position as 'ever-evolving' and the responsibilities of this newly-popularized role in college sports vary depending on the program. He provided some insight into how Mizzou wants to capitalize on the new role.

"Wearing different hats is what we discussed, from my marketing days at Nike to help our players with their branding, from my Overtime Elite days of building social media and understanding the impact of what a player's brand can do over the Internet and how they need to own that space and protect that space, and then, also just my relationships here in this corridor," Fuller said.

You can watch the full press conference with Mizzou Men's Basketball's first-ever general manager in the slideshow above.

Fuller brings 25 years of experience in basketball to the program, from the college to the professional level. He's coached multiple collegiate programs and worked with Nike and Overtime Elite. That experience in a variety of different areas has helped prepare him and will help him thrive in the new role.

"I can honestly say my time at Nike, being a sports marketing representative on the East Coast, managing the relationships all the way from high school to grassroots through college to the NBA, is the job, right?" Fuller said. "Knowing the scope of why everybody is in the gym as soon as you walk in the gym, being able to identify talent at a high level, knowing the unknown and being able to motivate the unmotivated, finding those gems in the back gym."

Despite the brand-new position, Mizzou is not new to the program's general manager. Fuller was a former MU associate and interim head coach (2011-15), so accepting the new position represents a homecoming. He says the university means a lot to him because of the people.

"You don't make decisions off the names on the buildings. You make decisions based off the heartbeats inside those walls in that building," Fuller said. "The people at Missouri, not just staff but supporters in this community, have embraced me, embraced my children... sitting on the sidelines with supporters, and then, seeing the smiles on their faces and the welcome back... it just further confirms and consummates that feeling that this is a special place."

With Fuller's assistance, Mizzou Men's Basketball is aiming to build on its second NCAA Tournament appearance in three years under head coach Dennis Gates and capitalize on two of the program's three-most winningest seasons since joining the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 2012-13.