5 things to know about new Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch

Laird Veatch is coming back to Columbia.

Missouri announced Tuesday that Veatch is set to be named the university’s next athletic director, which will make him the fourth person to hold the post in the past nine years.

Veatch held a prominent role in the Tigers’ fundraising arm in the late 1990s and early 2000s and has since held roles at Kansas State, Iowa State, Learfield Sports, Florida and, most recently, as the athletic director at Memphis since 2019.

It’s a new era in the MU athletics department, where Eli Drinkwitz’s Missouri football team is enjoying the type of success the Tigers haven’t seen in a decade; a $250 million renovation is coming to Memorial Stadium’s North Concourse; men’s basketball is rebounding from a historically poor year with a hot streak of recruiting; and much more coming to Veatch’s plate.

Here are five things to know about Missouri’s next athletic director.

More: Laird Veatch officially named next athletic director at Missouri

New Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch brings fundraising, SEC experience

When you’re looking for a new athletic director at Missouri, there are a few boxes you’d ideally like to check.

Experience in the conference is one; fundraising is another; past ties to the university are a bonus.

Veatch has all three.

The new Missouri athletic director spent more than a decade either with Mizzou or in a Missouri-adjacent role. He spent five years with MU between 1997-2002, holding 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.

Most of Veach’s time at Missouri, which came under then-athletic directors Joe Castiglione and Mike Alden, was spent as the head of the Tigers’ fundraising arm. 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’s put that fundraising experience to good use.

While at Memphis, Veatch partnered with the city for a $200 million renovation to the school’s football stadium. Missouri recently approved a $250 million upgrade to Memorial Stadium’s north concourse, a project that Veatch will oversee and is expected to be completed by October 2026. Mizzou must finance half of the project.

He brings three years of SEC experience, as he was the executive associate athletics director of internal affairs at Florida from 2017-19, his final stop before becoming Memphis AD. While at Florida, he oversaw a $15 million renovation to the Gators’ softball stadium and a groundbreaking on a baseball stadium worth $65 million, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Memphis also has been forward-thinking in the Name, Image and Likeness age. On Friday, Veatch and Memphis secured a $25 million NIL partnership with FedEx.

Who did Veatch hire at Memphis?

Veatch’s time at Memphis saw several coaching hires and a couple of extensions.

Veatch hired, and recently extended, football coach Ryan Silverfield, extended men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway and made two hires for the women’s basketball program — Katrina Merriwether and Alex Simmons — during his time as AD. He also hired current Missouri baseball coach Kerrick Jackson, who joined Missouri last year.

Silverfield was awarded a five-year, $12.25 million contract extension earlier this month, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. He's 31-18 since becoming Memphis’ head football coach in 2020. The Tigers have won all three bowls they’ve been to with him at the helm. Last season, Memphis went 10-3, with one of those three losses coming in Week 4 against Eli Drinkwitz’s Missouri team in St. Louis.

Veatch also extended basketball coach Penny Hardaway under Veatch’s leadership, as the coach penned a $16.5 million deal through the 2027-28 season in October 2022.

After 13-year head coach Melissa McFerrin retired in 2021, Veatch hired Merriwether to coach Memphis’ women’s basketball team. She 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 Simmons, who went 13-17 with a .500 mark in AAC play last season.

What is Laird Veatch’s salary and buyout?

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Veatch signed a five-year deal in August 2019 worth $500,000 annually. The deal was due to expire Sept. 30, 2024.

Veatch and Missouri do not owe Memphis any money in liquidated damages, more commonly known as a buyout, according to a contract obtained by the USA Today Network in September 2023.

“If the University fails to exercise an amendment or extend the term with less than two years remaining (i.e. July 2020),” the contract reads, “then Athletics Director (Veatch) shall no longer have a liquidated damages obligation.”

There is a clause in the contract that says Veatch was to engage in good-faith renewal negotiations with Memphis on or before Sept. 1, 2022. The contract was obtained through an open records request in September 2023. It is possible Veatch's contract was renewed after that point.

Missouri is expected to receive approximately $3 million from Arizona for hiring away Reed-Francois.

Veatch’s contract details at Missouri will likely be made available in the coming days.

Biography

Laird Veatch was a linebacker and team captain on Bill Snyder’s Kansas State team in the early 1990s. He graduated from KSU in 1995 and later spent two months as the Wildcats’ interim athletic director in 2017 when John Currie left for Tennessee.

Veatch grew up in Manhattan, Kansas, and graduated from Manhattan High before committing to Kansas State. He was recruited by Missouri out of high school, according to an interview with Memphis Magazine.

Veatch has a wife, Brandy; three daughters, Jordyn, Taylor and Sydney; and one son, Dru.

Veatch’s full employment history

• Memphis (athletic director), October 2019 - April 2024

• Florida (Executive Associate Athletics Director, Internal Affairs), July 2017-19:

• Kansas State (deputy athletics director and chief of staff), 2016-17

• Kansas State (deputy athletics director), 2015-16

• Kansas State (executive associate athletics director), 2013-15

• Kansas State (senior associate athletics director for strategic initiatives), 2012-13

• Kansas State (associate athletics director for capital support), 2010-12

• Learfield Sports, Heartland Division (regional vice president), 2006-10

• Learfield Sports, Mizzou Sports Properties (general manager), 2003-06

• Iowa State (senior associate athletics director for external operations), 2002-03

• Missouri (assistant athletics director for development), 2000-02

• Missouri (director of athletics development for major giving), 1998-2000

• Missouri (director of annual giving and development coordinator), 1997-98

• Texas (graduate assistant for external operations and the Longhorn Foundation), 1995-97

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 5 things to know about new Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch