Tag: AD

Tigers Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier 18, LSU Tigers take on the Texas A&M Aggies. October 25, 2025; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; at Tiger Stadium. Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025.

LSU interim AD given green light to hire football coach

Posted on | by Field Level Media

LSU interim athletic director Verge Ausberry has something his fired predecessor did not have: authority to hire the school’s next football coach.

Ausberry, along with university Board of Supervisors members John Carmouche and Scott Ballard, met with the media briefly Friday morning in Baton Rouge, La., working to reassure the LSU community about the plan moving forward.

The week has been a whirlwind for LSU. Football coach Brian Kelly was fired Monday after a 49-25 loss to Texas A&M left the Tigers with a 5-3 record. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry was critical of Kelly’s $54 million buyout and vowed athletic director Scott Woodward would not hire Kelly’s replacement.

On Thursday, Woodward was fired and Ausberry was given the job on an interim basis.

Ausberry said a search committee, which will include Ballard and Carmouche, is being formed to assist with the search.

The interim AD — a former LSU linebacker — has spent 24 years working in the Tigers’ athletic department, most recently as executive deputy athletic director.

Ausberry said the events of the week — including the perceptions of government interference possibly created in the coaching community — will not keep top coaches from being interested in the job.

“We’re LSU. Our phone is still ringing,” Ausberry said. “It’s one of the best jobs in the country. It is the best job in the country at this time. I don’t see any problems bringing the right person to LSU.”

And the interim AD vowed that LSU will become a College Football Playoff team.

“We’re going to hire the best football coach there is,” Ausberry said. “That’s our job. We are not going to let this program fail. LSU has to be in the playoffs every year in football. There’s 12 teams that make it. It’s going to expand here. We have to be one of those teams at LSU. No substitute.”

“We’re LSU,” Ausberry said. “This place is not broken. The athletic department is not broken. We win.”

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to announce the hiring of LSU’s next president on Tuesday.

“We’re not slowing down for that,” Ballard said. “Verge is going to move forward and knows what he needs to do. But, depending on how that works out and when the new president starts, the new president will absolutely have input and hopefully hit the ground running.”

–Field Level Media

OU athletic director Joe Castiglione talks during a press conference before a celebration for OU joining the Southeastern Conference in Norman, Okla., Monday, July 1, 2024.

Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione retiring after 27 years

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Oklahoma’s Joe Castiglione, who has guided the Sooners’ sports operations since 1998, will retire from his full-time role during the upcoming school year, the university announced on Monday.

Castiglione’s retirement will end the longest current tenure for an athletic director in major college sports.

Castiglione, 67, plans to stay on as athletic director emeritus following the hiring of his successor. A news conference is scheduled for Tuesday morning to officially make the announcement. University president Joseph Harroz Jr., in a letter to the OU community, said Castiglione’s retirement date is June 30, 2028, making for 30 years, according to a report from KWTV-News 9 in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma has captured 26 national championships and 117 league titles during his 27 years in Norman, which included the transition from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference.

Castiglione was named the athletic director of the year by Sports Business Journal in 2009 and shared the award in 2018. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics named him its top AD in 2000 and 2018.

The Sooners won a national championship in football in 2000 and reached the men’s basketball Final Four in 2002 and 2016. The softball program has captured eight national titles since 2000, and the women’s basketball team made the Final Four in 2002, 2009 and 2010.

Including his five years as the AD at Missouri before taking over at OU, a total of 32 of his former employees have gone on to become athletic directors or commissioners, per ESPN.

–Field Level Media

North Carolina Athletics Director Lawrence R. "Bubba" Cunningham, left, chats with Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the North Carolina Tar Heels at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

North Carolina hires AD-in-waiting, Bubba Cunningham to take advisory role in ’26

Posted on | by Field Level Media

North Carolina announced a transition plan Tuesday that will allow athletic director Bubba Cunningham to work with his replacement-in-waiting through the end of the upcoming academic year before moving into an advisory role created for him.

Hired in 2011, Cunningham will work directly with his replacement starting in August. RFK Racing president Steve Newmark was named executive associate athletic director effective Aug. 15. Newmark will succeed Cunningham as athletic director in the summer of 2026.

Cunningham signed a contract extension through 2029. His new title will be senior advisor to the chancellor and athletic director, which a university news release said will “allow Cunningham to focus his vast expertise on transformational University projects that will position the University and Carolina Athletics successfully for the future.”

“As part of my last contract extension, I committed to working with University leadership on a succession plan that would positively position Carolina athletics and our 28 teams for the future,” Cunningham said in the school-issued release. “I appreciate the opportunity to extend my contract and enhance my role in a way that will allow me to continue to support our outstanding student-athletes, coaches and staff as we transition and navigate the changing athletics landscape. I am excited for the future.”

Since Cunningham took over as AD in 2011, the Tar Heels have won 24 national championships, participated in 11 college football bowl games, three College World Series and three men’s Final Four runs.

Newmark, who is from Chapel Hill, was on the advisory committee that selected head coach Bill Belichick to lead the football program.

“Like many passionate Tar Heel fans, avidly following UNC athletics has represented a special and unique bond with my family and friends since childhood, and I recognize the role it serves for the University, alumni, community and broader fanbase,” Newmark said. “I look forward to working with Bubba and the entire Tar Heel Nation to continue to elevate UNC’s status as a premier brand in college sports.”

Newmark has a legal background and his resume includes work with the NCAA and Southeastern Conference when he was a partner at the Charlotte-based law firm Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson. The William & Mary and Virginia School of Law grad has been president of RFK Racing since 2010.

–Field Level Media

Jan 2, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; A view of the USC Trojans helmets and Cotton Bowl logo during the game between the USC Trojans and the Tulane Green Wave in the 2023 Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: USC hiring Washington’s Jennifer Cohen as AD

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Southern California is hiring away Washington’s Jennifer Cohen to be the Trojans’ new athletic director, multiple outlets reported Monday.

A press conference was scheduled for Monday afternoon in Los Angeles.

Cohen was overseeing the Huskies’ athletic department since 2016. At USC, she will be replacing Mike Bohn, who resigned in May citing ongoing health challenges.

As the first female athletic director in USC history, Cohen arrives as the program prepares to depart the Pac-12 and join the Big Ten at the start of the 2024-25 academic year.

Cohen’s successes at Washington included the hiring of former Fresno State football coach Kalen DeBoer. He led the Huskies to an 11-2 record in his first season in 2022 to mark a seven-win improvement from the 2021 season.

Earlier this month, Cohen secured Washington’s place in the Big Ten.

–Field Level Media

(File photo) Coach Neal Brown speaks in the post-game press conference after a loss to Texas Tech. WVU currently sits at 2-4, just in time for their bye week. Wvu Coach Neal Brown Press Conference

Report: WVU finalizing deal with new AD, plans to keep coach

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Neal Brown was informed he will be retained as head football coach at West Virginia by new athletic director Wren Baker, according to multiple reports.

A formal announcement from the school was expected later Wednesday as part of the university’s confirmation of Baker’s hiring.

Baker, who spent six years as athletic director at North Texas, was hired to replace Shane Lyons.

Brown, 22-25 at West Virginia, has a $16 million buyout as part of a contract extension that runs through 2026.

West Virginia finished 5-7 this season but November wins over Oklahoma State and Oklahoma might have helped him earn another year in Morgantown.

Lyons, who was hired in 2015 to replace Oliver Luck, recently joined the Alabama athletic department.

–Field Level Media