Wisconsin is in the middle of hiring a new athletic director, and one name has recently been leaked as "a finalist" for the position. That's Arizona's relatively new athletic director, Desiree Reed-Francois. According to Jason Scheer, she's also interviewing at two to three other positions. It's the first name that has popped up (from a legitimate source) for Wisconsin's open position, and there's a lot of intrigue to Reed-Francois.
Arizona Athletic Director Desiree Reed-Francois is considered a finalist for the Wisconsin AD job. She is involved with 2-3 others currently.
— Jason Scheer (@jasonscheer) June 19, 2026
Wisconsin's search for a new athletic director came as a bit of a surprise when former athletic director Chris McIntosh took a new position with the Big Ten. He's an alumnus and former football player and bleeds Badger red. He's not someone who seemed like he would ever leave unless forced to, but the ever-changing nature of his job and the push to increase revenue via fundraising may have caused his early exit. It seems as if he is better served in an administrative role that doesn't need boots on the ground to succeed.
This pushed Wisconsin into a search, and yet at a poor time. The school is already looking for a chancellor and doesn't seem to be in a particular rush to fill that spot. Which means this athletic director position is going to be filled in the wrong order. The athletic director position is due to be filled before summer is over, but presumably soon. The chancellor will be months away (supposedly).
Wisconsin interim chancellor Eric Wilcots formed a search team of a who's who in Wisconsin athletics, including a current athlete, to find the next AD. This team has names like Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard and two-time NBA All-Star Michael Finley (former Badger player) in the room.
There's some motivation to get this done quickly, but there have been very few leaks to the candidates until now. Desiree Reed-Francois is recognized as one of the best up-and-coming athletic directors in the country. She started her career working in various athletic roles at Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, and Tennessee. Eventually, she landed as the AD at UNLV, where she helped lead a turnaround in such a way that she was hired to be the AD at Missouri.
Wisconsin is keying in on one finalist named Desiree Reed-Francois who has a great track record
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That success drew her back to Arizona, where she graduated from the College of Law at the University of Arizona. She's done something that Wisconsin is eager for at Arizona. The Wildcats were in a terrible financial spot, and yet she navigated the school through the turmoil, kept the programs competitive, and eventually got UA out of the hole.
According to her bio page on the University of Arizona website, "[Reed-Francois has led] the department’s financial turnaround. After inheriting a $39 million deficit, Arizona is now on pace to fully balance its budget, reflecting a disciplined and strategic approach to revenue generation and operational efficiency."
Wisconsin isn't in a deficit by any stretch, but getting financially competitive at the top of the Big Ten is a huge priority. There will need to be someone who isn't scared to raise money while elevating the athletics. Under her tenure at Arizona, she's led the department to "Men’s Basketball Final Four appearance, a 9-win football season and bowl appearance, a College World Series berth, back-to-back national championships in triathlon, and multiple Big 12 Conference titles."
While there are some concerns over her handling of Tommy Lloyd's job and the heirarchy there is wild. She was put in an impossible position which could be why she's now looking around for another opportunity.
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