The search for a new athletic director has been mostly quiet until yesterday, when Wildcat Authority dropped the news that current Arizona athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois is one of the finalists. This is the first name that's come out during the search process, and while the PR team is already at work for Reed-Francois, who has now said she's "happy where her feet are." That may or may not be nonsense as the search plays out.
There's a lot she would bring to the table for Wisconsin, namely, fundraising, but she also would come with a big red flag. A mess that happened in Arizona that she has yet to clean up and may not ever be able to, which could be why she's packing her bags and looking around. The way she handled Arizona head basketball coach Tommy Lloyd is a problem.
Now, much of the issue(s) isn't public, and speculation is abundant. It's all mostly rumors, and who knows how it actually went. What is factual, though, is that Tommy Lloyd negotiated a new contract where he reports directly to the president of Arizona. He now has language where he can bypass the athletic director and thus Reed-Francois. This is awkward at best and toxic at worst.
The tension between Desiree Reed-Francois and Tommy Lloyd is a potential red flag for Wisconsin
Related: Kelly Sheffield calms growing concerns about Wisconsin volleyball's crowded roster
Truly, Reed-Francois could be caught in something that happened to her and not happened by her, but it's a red flag nonetheless and something the search team will need to investigate. Fans and speculation had the two in direct conflict over how to spend the basketball budget and allocation to basketball.
Reed-Francois was actually put in a terrible spot to start her tenure. The Arizona athletic department was millions of dollars in the hole, and she was tasked with digging the Wildcats out. She did just that, while keeping Arizona at the top or towards the top of the Big 12 in many of their sports. She can even get some credit for Arizona's Final Four run as the head of the department.
However, Lloyd was after a bigger contract as North Carolina came courting, and he was open about it. Those weeks were probably strange for Reed-Francois, and maybe she was okay with letting him walk, though it's hard to say. Yet, it's telling when the president has to step in, and then the language changes for Lloyd to now directly report to the president of the school.
Lloyd still has to report to Reed-Francois for athletic-related needs, but anything over budgets, compensation, performance reviews, salary pool, etc., will now go through the president. This may be what caused Reed-Francois to start looking around. This can't be fun for her and directly undermines her leadership.
This is the red flag for Wisconsin and one that will need to be investigated. How did all this play out? What role did Reed-Francois play in it? And how does Wisconsin make sure something similar doesn't happen in Madison? Her ability to fundraise and budget will immediately endear her to Badger fans, but the red flag will need to be explained.
Add us as a preferred source on Google