The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has the most stable group of ADs. Four ADs have been in office at least 20 years, helping to bump the conference’s average tenure to 11.6 years. The ADs at The American Athletic, WAC and SWAC each have average tenures of three years or less. Three WAC ADs have begun within the last 11 months. Additionally, three of the 10 SWAC schools are searching for an AD, which, once filled, will drive the conference’s average tenure lower.
| Conference |
Average tenure (years) |
| Metro Atlantic Athletic |
11.6 |
| Northeast |
10.8 |
| Big East |
9.3 |
| West Coast |
9.0 |
| Big South |
8.7 |
| Colonial Athletic |
8.3 |
| Atlantic 10 |
8.2 |
| Summit League |
8.2 |
| Conference USA |
8.1 |
| Ohio Valley |
8.1 |
| Ivy League |
7.6 |
| Mid-Eastern Athletic |
7.6 |
| Patriot League |
7.5 |
| Pac-12 |
7.2 |
| Big 12 |
7.0 |
| SEC |
7.0 |
| Big Ten |
6.9 |
| ACC |
6.8 |
| Horizon |
6.7 |
| Southland |
6.7 |
| America East |
6.3 |
| Big Sky |
5.9 |
| Mid-American |
5.9 |
| Atlantic Sun |
5.8 |
| Southern |
5.3 |
| Missouri Valley |
3.9 |
| Big West |
3.7 |
| Mountain West |
3.7 |
| Sun Belt |
3.3 |
| The American Athletic |
3.0 |
| Southwestern Athletic |
3.0 |
| Western Athletic |
2.8 |
ACC
■ Avg. tenure: 6.8 years
■ Longest tenured AD: Ron Wellman, Wake Forest (Oct. 1992)
■ Newest AD: Whit Babcock, Virginia Tech (Jan. 2014)
■ Opening: Syracuse
Big 12
■ Avg. tenure: 7.0 years
■ Longest tenured AD: Joe Castiglione, Oklahoma (April 1998)
■ Newest AD: Shane Lyons, West Virginia (Jan. 2015)
Big Ten
■ Avg. tenure: 6.9 years
■ Longest tenured AD: Morgan Burke, Purdue (Jan. 1993)
■ Newest AD: Sandy Barbour, Penn State (Aug. 2014)
■ Opening: Michigan
Pac-12
■ Avg. tenure: 7.2 years
■ Longest tenured AD: Chris Hill, Utah (Oct. 1987)
■ Newest AD: Michael Williams, California-Berkeley (May 2015)
SEC
u Avg. tenure: 7.0 years
u Longest tenured AD: Jeremy Foley, Florida (March 1992)
u Newest AD: Mack Rhoades, Missouri (April 2015)
