Five takeaways as Mizzou introduces Laird Veatch as Tigers’ new athletic director

The University of Missouri knows something about introducing new athletic directors.

Since Mike Alden resigned in 2015 after 17 years on the job, the second-longest tenure for an athletic boss in school history, MU hasn’t come close to matching that stability.

On Friday, Mizzou introduced its fourth athletic director since Alden in pep-rally style. Cheerleaders, band, donors and fans attended a ceremony at the school’s indoor football practice facility and applauded Laird Veatch.

He arrives from Memphis with roots in Manhattan, Kansas and at K-State, where Veatch overachieved at linebacker for the early Bill Snyder-coached Wildcats teams.

But his experience in Columbia — as a former Missouri associate athletic director for development — holds the greatest appeal for the Tigers. Hired by Joe Castiglione in 1997, Veatch worked under Alden through the early 2000s and later worked at Mizzou Sports Properties.

He was in Columbia long enough, during those resume-building years, that three of his four children were born there.

“They all wore the Tigers Tot onesies,” he said.

Now he’s back in familiar territory, and that theme is the first of five highlights from Friday’s festivities.

Laird Veatch at Mizzou: ‘Perfect fit’

Veatch was presented a football jersey with the No. 22 by university chancellor Mun Choi — because Veatch is the 22nd athletic director in school history.

Choi joked that he wanted Veatch to remain on the job for 22 years.

“I haven’t followed up with a conversation about my 22-year contract yet,” Veatch said. “But I’d look forward to it. I hope they want to keep me around that long.”

The February departure of previous AD Desiree Reed-Francois to Arizona after 2 1/2 years on campus wasn’t a topic of discussion Friday, but it served as the day’s undercurrent. She left in head-shaking fashion: for a lesser salary and an athletic program dealing with financial stress.

Missouri wanted to be wanted.

“This was his dream job,” Choi said of Veatch. “He’s not going anywhere beyond this. And that was a commitment, and I feel that all of us deserve an AD that wants a job.”

Certainly, Veatch has aspired to this job. Twice. He was a finalist when Mizzou hired Reed-Francois.

“It sounds cliche, but this is truly the perfect fit,” he said. “I’ve turned down interest in other (jobs), but this is one that was always on the radar. When it came back up, I was in it 100 percent.

“There is no transfer portal for the Veatch family. We are committed.”

Navigating the NIL world

Missouri has been a leader in creating legislation in the name, image and likeness era, among the first to allow coaches to join in talks with athletes about creating NIL deals.

Missouri also allowed in-state athletes to become eligible for NIL benefits if they sign with an in-state school.

“The fact that the athletic department, the university, Board of Curators and the state all came together early on to identify a potential pathway to compete at the highest level is awesome,” Veatch said. “We are at a time in college athletics unlike it has ever been, and there is opportunity in that.

“What I really appreciate is that (Missouri) saw that opportunity and was willing to get aggressive.”

Getting Missouri to next level

Asked what it would take to get Missouri to a College Football Playoff, Final Four or Men’s College World Series — Missouri hasn’t reached any of them — Veatch said the time is now, especially with coach Eli Drinkwitz’s football team coming off an 11-2 season and No. 8 final national ranking.

“There’s a sense of urgency in our world all the time,” Veatch said. “In the SEC you don’t have a chance to step back and not be urgent.”

Why did it take so long?

The job opened in late February, and more than two months passed before the Tigers hired Veatch. At least one other school, Nebraska, lost and hired an athletic director during that time.

“This search was a very important search,” Choi said. “The curators really insisted we take our time and find the right person. And I’m glad we did.”

Almost EMAW

When it was noted on Friday that Missouri defeated Kansas State on Harrison Mevis’ 61-yard walk-off field goal this past season, Veatch pumped his fist in celebration.

But make no mistake, K-State is especially meaningful to Veatch. He played on the team that won the football program’s first bowl game in 1993 and was a senior captain the next season.

Veatch spent eight years in the Wildcats’ athletic department, and in 2017 he was a finalist when the K-State AD job came open. It went to Gene Taylor, and a door opened almost immediately for Veatch. The next day, he heard from Florida, where he went on to serve as executive associate athlete director for internal affairs.

That led him to his first job leading an athletic department, at Memphis.

“There was point when they was definitely the goal,” Veatch said. “That was really challenging for me and my family. But Florida opened up, just like that. Now, I see, it wasn’t supposed to be there. It was supposed to be here.”

Veatch played football at Manhattan High near the Kansas State campus. When it came time to pick a college for which to play, he chose K-State over Missouri.

“(Former Mizzou football coach) Bob Stull recruited me here (to Columbia), and I really thought, going through it, that was I coming here,” Veatch said.

He did, just several decades later.