Missouri Athletics: Reed-Francois talks big, she’ll need to back it up
By Kyle Jones
New Missouri Athletic Director Desiree Reed-Francois talked the talk, and what talk it was.
“Championship cultures require a daily commitment to excellence,” Reed-Francois said at her introductory press conference on Wednesday. “Excellence is the expectation.”
Of course, talk is cheap. Only actions will show whether Reed-Francois can back up her claims. But that’s not news to the new AD.
“I know this is the Show Me State,” Reed-Francois said. “And I know our actions will speak louder than our words.”
Reed-Francois already seems to have a good relationship with Eliah Drinkwitz, a good sign for Missouri football fans.
“His energy is infectious,” she said. “You can tell he’s building something special.”
She also has a positive history with Cuonzo Martin, having been part of the team that hired him at Tennessee.
“Cuonzo Martin is someone I would want my son to play for,” Reed-Francois said.
Reed-Francois faced her first test as Missouri AD on Wednesday, and it seems like she has passed. But this was the first test of many.
She still has to deal a baseball team that can’t compete, a women’s basketball team that is going through a serious rough patch, and a men’s basketball team that many consider is underperforming.
She has been brought in at a time of huge change in the SEC, due to new NIL rules and the addition of Texas and Oklahoma to the conference.
She set ambitions that may seem lofty at the moment, but her mindset lays the groundwork.
“It’s not just a coach that drives winning, it’s all of us,” Reed-Francois said. “When you put the foundation, the results will come.”
However, while this mindset conjures up championship dreams, Reed-Francois has only brushed against that type of success during her time as an athletic director.
During her tenure as AD at UNLV, the football team did not have a single winning season and the men’s basketball team struggled to stay above .500.
After winning the regular season Mountain West championship during her first year at UNLV, the women’s basketball team has failed to return to such heights. The men’s and women’s soccer teams experienced only moderate success.
The UNLV softball team put up strong records during Reed-Francois’ tenure, though never appeared in an NCAA Tournament.
The brightest star of her tenure however would be the UNLV women’s volleyball team. In 2017, her first year in charge, the team went 8-23. Last season the team finished as Mountain West champs and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before being beaten by eventual champs Kentucky.
The talk from Reed-Francois sound great, and her work at schools like Virginia Tech and Tennessee gives those words some weight, but as AD at Missouri she can’t just talk the talk, she needs to walk the walk.