Arizona State President Michael Crow has a “reputation for being disengaged from athletics"Mark Henle/USA TODAY NETWORK
Arizona State is “taking its sweet time” with finding a successor to former AD Ray Anderson as they “don’t appear close" to naming a new AD, according to sources cited by Jon Wilner of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. The Univ. of Arizona “needed less than a month” to hire new AD Desiree Reed-Francois after firing Dave Heeke and the contrasting timelines “perfectly reflect the disparate approaches to athletics taken by the two university presidents.” UA President Robert Robbins is “highly engaged,” to the point that he was “viewed as the de facto athletic director” during Heeke's tenure. Meanwhile, ASU President Michael Crow has a “reputation for being disengaged from athletics.” However, Crow in an email to the Mercury News wrote, “We are making some design changes and updating our models for operations and systems before we make a decision on a new AD, so it is for us a careful and deliberate process.” Wilner noted ASU “should have a strong candidate pool when the search reaches its final stages” because of the “location, expected salary (relative to cost of living) and resources available.” Anderson’s “dismal performance" also creates "upside potential for his successor.” As ASU prepares to enter the Big 12 this summer without an AD, Crow “cannot swing and miss.” The department “needs a leader who understands ASU’s challenges and can position the Sun Devils to thrive in whatever version of college sports comes next” (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 3/5).
