Mizzou Eyeing Memphis' Laird Veatch as Next Athletic Director

The Missouri Tigers seem to be near hiring the school's next AD, according to Pete Thamel.

COLUMBIA, Mo., — The University of Missouri is set to hire Laird Veatch as the school's next athletic director, according to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel. The contract is expected to be five years, lasting through 2028.

Veatch has been the athletic director for Memphis since October of 2019 and has multiple ties to Missouri. He worked in various developmental roles for Missouri starting in 1997 and was named the assistant athletics director for development in 2000. During this time, he managed the Tiger Scholarship Fund.

In 2003, he was hired by Learfield Sports, where he worked as the general manager of Mizzou Sports Properties before being promoted to regional vice president in 2006.

In his time at Memphis, Veatch has hired football coach Ryan Silverfield, women's basketball coaches Katrina Merriweather and Alex Simmons. He worked out an extension with men's basketball coach Penny Hardaway in 2020.

Veatch also previously hired current Missouri baseball coach Kerrick Jackson at Memphis in 2023.

The hiring of Veatch comes more than two months after former athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois took the same role at the University of Arizona.

The school appointed a 11-person committee to conduct the search, headed by Bob Blitz, the chair of the Mizzou Intercollegiate Athletics Special Committee. The school also hired the firm TurkeyZRG to assist the committee in the search.

Veatch will be taking over an athletics program on the rise. Last week, the firm announced the approval for up to $250 million in renovations to Memorial Stadium. The renovation plans include up an addition of up to 2,000 premium seats.

The program also reported record revenue in both 2022 and 2023 under Reed-Francois.

This story will be updated with more details when revealed.