Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

New UNLV athletic director brings great résumé, great energy

Desiree ReedFrancois

L.E. Baskow

New UNLV Athletic Director Desiree Reed-Francois speaks to all in attendance during a media conference about her recent hire on Thursday, April 18, 2017.

As she takes over UNLV’s athletic department, Desiree Reed-Francois knows that her distinction of being the first Hispanic female athletic director at the Football Bowl Subdivision level will bring her added attention.

But Reed-Francois wants to be known for more than her gender or ethnic heritage.

“A lot of people have helped me to get where I am,” she said. “It is my responsibility to not only work my tail off and do an excellent job, because I recognize that people may be watching more, but I have the responsibility to mentor people coming up just like I have been mentored.”

The hiring of Reed-Francois, who signed a five-year contract and will begin June 1, is another example of UNLV being proactive in its efforts to diversify its staff and campus. The university ranks second in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual list for “best ethnic diversity,” claiming a top-10 spot in the poll for the fifth consecutive year.

Football’s Tony Sanchez is one of three Division I Hispanic head coaches, and Kreigh Warkentien, in her sixth year with the men’s basketball program, previously was director of basketball operations, a job predominantly held by men.

“The one thing about athletics — not only is it a dynamic atmosphere (that) teaches you some amazing lessons of resiliency, teamwork and determination — but it is truly a meritocracy,” Reed-Francois said. “If you can play, you can play. I look forward to some point where we don’t have that (label) question asked.”

Reed-Francois comes to Las Vegas from Virginia Tech, where she served as deputy athletic director. She was Cincinnati’s interim athletic director for five months in 2014 and has made previous stops at such schools as Tennessee, Fresno State, San Jose State and the University of San Francisco while climbing the administrative ladder.

She spent two years practicing law and worked as a legal associate for the Oakland Raiders, giving her the credentials UNLV desired. She’ll be involved in negotiating the agreement to share the $1.9 billion football stadium that’s scheduled to open near the Strip in 2020 with the Raiders. And, equally important to UNLV, she will lead the charge to upgrade conference affiliations from the mid-major Mountain West to a Power 5 conference such as the Pac-12.

“It is a great résumé, right?,” UNLV President Len Jessup said. “You look at her background and it is perfect for us with the Power 5 experience, West Coast experience, being an attorney. Everything on paper is suggesting this person would be a great fit coming in.”

What the résumé doesn’t include is how well Reed-Francois networks and interacts with others. That’s where she won over UNLV’s search committee, Jessup said. And that’s exactly what she started doing in her first hours on the job.

One of Reed-Francois’ first acts was gathering contact information for the program’s boosters. Within 24 hours of signing the contract, she had already touched base with all of the Rebels’ coaches and many supporters. While she won’t officially begin for a few weeks, she’s already working to build what matters most.

“If we’re going to keep score, I’d like us to win,” she said. “... I can promise the UNLV family that I will work tirelessly to repay their faith.”

How UNLV’S New AD stacks up

Desiree Reed-Francois will be one of the highest-paid athletic directors in the Mountain West.

Here’s how her salary compares across the conference:

$425,000: John Hartwell, Utah State

$420,261: Paul Krebs, New Mexico

$390,000: John David Wicker, San Diego State

$350,000: Desiree Reed-Francois, UNLV

$336,336K: Gene Bleymaier, San Jose State (he stepped aside in February; contract ends June 30)

$331,500: Curt Apsey, Boise State

$325,000: Joe Parker, Colorado State

$295,000: Doug Knuth, UNR

$290,000: Jim Bartko, Fresno State

$240K: Tina Kunzer-Murphy, UNLV’s exiting athletic director

$202,004: Tom Burman, Wyoming

*Salaries include base pay and compensation, such as media appearance bonus. Salary unknown for Jim Knowlton of Air Force.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21