COLUMBIA, Mo. — Mizzou athletics has a new leader at the helm after Desiree Reed-Francois was introduced as the university's director of athletics on Wednesday.
Reed-Francois comes from the same position at UNLV, and is the first female AD in the school's history. She takes over for Jim Sterk, with whom the university "mutually" parted ways in July.
"Yes, she has the vision, experience and tough-mindedness that we need," Missouri President Mun Choi said Wednesday. "She's going to be making some deep, but necessary changes. So business as usual goes out the window with our new athletics director. She's going to bring that culture of winning back to Mizzou. And we deserve it in the state of Missouri and this great institution."
Reed-Francois' introductory press conference made it clear the university has high ambitions for the athletics department under the new AD.
"I'm going to throw down the gauntlet. We're not going to go from good to great. Today, we're going to go from good to becoming champions. The very best. And with the right leadership, the right vision and the investments, we can get there," Choi said.
"Challenge accepted. Thank you," Reed-Francois echoed.
Reed-Francois also laid out her roadmap to what success looks like at Mizzou, saying, "Excellence is the expectation."
"We want to graduate leaders with meaningful career paths. We're going to relentlessly compete and we're going to win SEC championships," Reed-Francois said. "We're going to serve as a point of pride and unity for our entire global Mizzou community."
And Reed-Francois wasn't shy about doubling-down on her commitment to winning.
"I will have a lot of listening and learning to do in the days ahead. But I can promise you that we will have an athletic department you can be proud of day in and day out. We will keep what as worked, and innovate for the future. We compete in the best conference in the country and we should regularly compete for SEC championships, which will put us in the hunt for national championships," Reed-Francois said. "But ultimately, I know this is the Show-Me State. And I know that our actions and our results will speak louder than my words. But I know this league, and I know we can do this. We can be one of the nation's best in everything. Everything we do will reflect this."