3 questions facing new Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch on Day 1

It’s a new era of athletics in Columbia, Missouri.

Laird Veatch, formerly at Memphis in the same role, was officially named as Missouri’s next athletic director on Tuesday morning. The UM System Board of Curators will meet Wednesday to discuss and, in all likelihood, approve his contract. Veatch could be introduced to the public as soon as Friday, but his official start date is May 1.

When he puts boots on the ground in Columbia, he’ll be tasked with hitting Missouri soil in a sprint.

More: Laird Veatch officially named next athletic director at Missouri

Here are three questions and tasks facing Veatch on Day 1:

Can Laird Veatch do right by Eli Drinkwitz and Missouri football?

The 11-2 Missouri football team with a Cotton Bowl trophy in the cabinet and a quarter-of-a-billion stadium upgrade in motion would be a good place for new Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch to channel his immediate focus.

The question facing Veatch: What can he do to make sure that success is sustained?

He’ll walk into a good deal, including in areas where he’s proven he can dig up gold.

Missouri was a pioneer in novel Name, Image and Likeness legislation that gives in-state institutions a leg up in recruiting in-state talent — a law that is now being replicated across the nation. The better Missouri does on that front as the goalposts inevitably sway and shift in the coming years, the better the on-field product is likely to be.

Veatch, just last Friday, secured a $25 million NIL partnership with FedEx for Memphis.

Missouri football is sparing no expense on its facilities. Last year, the Tigers unveiled the $33-million Stephens Indoor Facility, which MU coach Eli Drinkwitz has on multiple occasions partially credited for the team’s recent successes. Last Thursday in Rolla, Missouri, the university’s board approved a $250 million upgrade to the north concourse of Memorial Stadium.

Veatch has experience there, too. He partnered with the city of Memphis on a $200 million renovation to the university’s football stadium. While at Florida between 2017-19, he was a catalyst for upgrades to the Gators’ softball stadium and helped break ground on a new baseball stadium.

Football moves the needle. UM System President Mun Choi said last Thursday that enrollment numbers are already up in the wake of the Tigers’ success on the field last season.

If Veatch can find his way onto Drinkwitz’s holiday card mailing list, he’ll be just fine.

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Money, money, money

At the top of the board of curators’ list of important qualities for an AD, understandably, was the ability to fundraise.

“When we put out a list of qualifications, number one on the list is the ability to raise money, to get donors,” UM board of curator Bob Blitz said Thursday. “And athletics today, as you know, are more expensive than they've ever been, and it's going up. So we need somebody who really knows fundraising, knows how to recruit people to fundraise, things like that.”

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Missouri received its largest-ever donation under former athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois in early February, when a $62 million gift was put toward athletics with $50 million to go toward stadium renovations and the remainder tabbed for the Tiger Scholarship Fund. The Tigers brought in record revenue and exhibited record spending, finishing the fiscal year 2023 in the black by $1.

While at Missouri during a stint between 1997-2002, Veatch oversaw fundraising activities with a special focus on facility upgrades, managed the Tigers Scholarship fund and directed a $102 million capital fundraising campaign. He held titles such as assistant AD for development; director of athletics development for major giving; and director of annual giving and development coordinator. He also worked for Learfield Sports, a sports marketing company, managing Mizzou Sports properties between 2003-06.

More: UM Board of Curators approves resolution for renovations to Missouri football’s Memorial Stadium

The athletic department is committed to financing half of the $250 million figure estimated for Memorial Stadium renovations. A chunk of that is already obtained through February’s gift. More money still needs to be obtained.

That task is immediately in Veatch’s hands. Missouri’s board expects nothing less.

And on the note of the curators …

How will Veatch and the recently formed, four-person Mizzou Intercollegiate Athletics Special Committee interact? What will that relationship look like? How much will his hands be tied when it comes to spending?

Chair of the curators Robin Wenneker and curator and committee member Bob Blitz both said the committee is the spawn of a fiduciary duty to the university and the state. Wenneker said she doesn't believe it’s the reason Reed-Francois left Columbia.

Whatever the case, the committee is there and it’s probably there to stay. That means it’s Veatch’s to deal with.

“We're not trying to pick coaches, we're not trying to do those kinds of things,” said Blitz, the oversight committee’s chair. “We're trying to make sure that the athletic department is running in a financially responsible way and doing the best they can.”

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What is the future of Missouri women’s basketball?

Did Missouri miss the boat?

Without an athletic director for 64 days, the Tigers moved into the final year of Missouri women’s basketball coach Robin Pingeton’s contract. Under previous AD Desireé Reed-Francois, a clear directive was set to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. Mizzou did not manage that.

But with nobody at the helm in a full-time capacity, April 1 — the day Pingeton’s buyout dropped — came and went, and the Tigers moved forward without a change.

In that same time span, women’s college basketball drew historic national attention with record TV viewership figures as stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese dueled in front of millions and an undefeated South Carolina team claimed the national title.

What is Veatch’s plan for the Missouri program?

He made two coaching hires at Memphis after 13-year head coach Meliss McFerrin retired in 2021. First, he tabbed Katrina Merriwether, who went 38-23 in two seasons and made it to one WNIT before leaving to take the head coaching role at her alma mater, Cincinnati. Veatch then hired Alex Simmons, who went 13-17 with a .500 mark in AAC play last season.

A coaching change at this point is probably unwise for all involved, as coaching searches take time, and the potential for roster fallout and a required rebuild could put the newcomer in an immediate hole.

But if Missouri is going to claim its stake in the sports’ newfound limelight, Veatch will need to have a plan for how to get the Tigers to that point.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 3 questions facing new Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch on Day 1