SU forms 7-person committee to replace athletics director
SU Chancellor Kent Syverud announced members of a new search committee to find the university’s next director of athletics. The committee will consider input from “key stakeholders,” including student-athletes and athletics staff. Eli Schwartz I Staff Photographer
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Syracuse University announced members of a new search committee tasked with finding SU’s future director of athletics, according to a Wednesday release.
Steve Ballentine, university trustee and chair of the Board of Trustees Athletics Committee, will lead the committee.
“This is a pivotal moment in the rapidly evolving world of college athletics,” Ballentine said. “We’re committed to finding a visionary leader who will help write the next great chapter of Syracuse Athletics.”
The committee consists of a mixture of six other university trustees and employees, including:
- John Lally, university trustee
- Ian McIntyre, men’s soccer coach
- Raquel-Ann McNabb, university trustee
- Gabe Nugent, senior vice president and general counsel
- Sarah Scalese, vice president for communications
- Mike Tirico, vice chair, Board of Trustees
The committee will consider input from student-athletes, athletics staff and other faculty and “key stakeholders” to make the selection, the release writes.
After a decade-long tenure in the AD position, John Wildhack, 67, announced his plan to retire on July 1. Wildhack, an SU alum, spent nearly four decades as the executive VP for programming and production at ESPN before returning to his alma mater in 2016.
In an interview with Cuse Sports Talk, Wildhack said his decision to retire came after some reflection with family over the holidays as the end of his year-long contract extension approached.
Wildhack’s retirement comes at a “pivotal moment” for university leadership and college athletics, according to the release.
The new AD will lead the school through a rapidly changing college sports landscape following the introduction of the NCAA’s NIL policy in 2021, which allows athletes to earn money from their name, likeness and image.
Chancellor Kent Syverud announced he will leave his role as chancellor at the end of the 2025-26 academic year in August to become the new president of his alma mater, the University of Michigan.
The Board of Trustees has not yet announced a timeline for a final selection of the next DA.
