If there is one area Wisconsin fans want to see improvement in the athletic department and quickly, it's in the budget. The Wisconsin Badgers simply aren't competitive at the top of the Big Ten in most sports, but especially not in the big two: Football and Basketball. Chris McIntosh seemed to shy away from fundraising, only plucking fruit off the tree if it was hanging nice and low. Or at times even fell directly into his lap.
There is only one name that has currently surfaced for Wisconsin's open athletic director position (even though there are multiple candidates). That name is Desiree Reed-Francois, the current athletic director at the University of Arizona. She's also been the athletic director at Missouri. There is a red flag with Reed-Francois, or at least a potential one; you can read that article here. But one home run about hiring Reed-Francois is the fact that she dominates at fundraising and budgeting.
Let's look at some numbers and accomplishments. We can start with UNLV, as that was her first job as the head of an athletics department. Reed-Francois helped raise $70 million for facility upgrades and negotiated an agreement with the Raiders (NFL) to use the facility, boosting financial revenue for the department.
Desireé Reed-Francois has some eye-popping fundraising numbers at UNLV, Missouri, and Arizona
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When she was hired at Missouri, this was the part Mizzou was excited about: "An adept fundraiser, Reed-Francois led a $60-million development drive at UNLV, resulting in an $8-million estate gift, the largest estate gift in the school’s history. Football season ticket sales and premium revenue jumped by 200% and 70%, respectively, and Reed-Francois introduced a new apparel agreement with Nike."
While at Missouri, she helped fundraise and construct the Stephens Indoor Practice Facility (football), increased the Tiger Scholarship Fund membership by 152%, which equated to $41 million. Reed-Francois helped secure a $60 million gift for the department and led the entire athletic department to the first budget surplus in years.
When she made the move to Arizona, she inherited a $39 million deficit in the budget. The Wildcats were in a terrible spot, and many fans were worried that it would dramatically affect their athletics. However, Reed-Francois got right to work and led to a dramatic turnaround. In two years, she was able to get the budget balanced, all while seeing success in a variety of sports across the Big 12.
These aren't numbers to take lightly. This is exactly what's been missing at Wisconsin. McIntosh didn't do the fundraising well, and while he can get nice numbers next to his name, most of it fell in his lap. The same isn't true for Reed-Francois; she may have stepped a little into it at Missouri, but at both UNLV and Arizona, she had to pound the pavement.
While she may not ultimately be the hire, she's got her PR team out working right now, saying she's "happy where her feet are planted." But this is the type of hire that Wisconsin needs, an athletic director that will increase the budget, fundraise money, and propel the Badgers to the top of the Big Ten across the athletic department.
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