Houston athletic director Mack Rhoades will become the new AD at Mizzou

[jbcarol]

Dennis Dodd @dennisdoddcbs  ·  9 hours ago

Breaking: Houston's Mack Rhoades expected to be named AD at Missouri. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/dennis-dodd/25099127/houstons-mack-rhoades-expected-to-be-named-new-ad-at-mizzou ...

[jbcarol]

Mizzou Athletics @mutigersdotcom  ·  2 hours ago

We'd like to officially welcome Mack Rhoades to the #Mizzou family! http://www.mutigers.com/genrel/030915aaa.html ...

[jbcarol]

Houston athletic director Mack Rhoades earned a reputation as a consensus builder during the chaos of a conference realignment and transformed the Cougars' athletic facilities the last five years through fundraising acumen.

Rhoades now brings his talents to Missouri after he was hired Monday as the Tigers' 16th athletic director.

"When you look at the up-and-coming guys that are out there, he's probably the primo guy out of all of them," said Texas El-Paso athletic director and former Missouri football coach Bob Stull, who worked with Rhoades at UTEP.

"Mack is very bright ... and will fit in really well in Columbia. He's really good with people, so he's outgoing and builds good relationships. He's very friendly and very personable. People will like that about him."

Rhoades, 49, will begin work in the Tigers' athletic department in late April.

He succeeds Mike Alden, who announced Jan. 29 that he would retire after 17 years as Missouri's athletic director.

"I am delighted to welcome a leader with a track record of enhancing the student-athlete experience and a proven record in fundraising and facility development," MU chancellor R. Bowen Loftin said in a release announcing Rhoades' hiring. "We found the right fit at the right time to take Mizzou Athletics to even greater heights."

Rhoades, who has been Houston's athletic director since June 2009, also was a candidate when Loftin led the search for a new athletic director at Texas A&M in 2012.

Rhoades hired Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman off Urban Meyer's national championship staff as Houston's new football coach in December and hired former Oklahoma and Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson as men's basketball coach last April.

Todd Whitting, who Rhoades hired in July 2010, has turned Houston baseball into a national power.

Rhoades' contract paid him $537,600 annually at Houston. He also had a maximum of $75,000 available in bonuses, according to USA Today.

At MU, Alden made $651,917 with available bonuses of $347,915.

[mizzouman]

Apparently, Rhoades is a master of fundraising and facility improvements.  All that is nice, but can he hire the right coaches? 

[Inhogswetrust]

 

Apparently, Rhoades is a master of fundraising and facility improvements.  All that is nice, but can he hire the right coaches? 

If I were a Mizzou fan I would not like it too much considering he hired Kelvin Sampson..............

[navyhog24]

Tom Jurich, the Lousiville AD, is the perfect AD for most SEC schools that will need an AD in the future. He only cares about winning and doesn't care how slimy and sly his coaches are.

[Inhogswetrust]

Tom Jurich, the Lousiville AD, is the perfect AD for most SEC schools that will need an AD in the future. He only cares about winning and doesn't care how slimy and sly his coaches are.

Which makes him more perfect for the old SWC or the ACC.

[jbcarol]

od Palmer @todpalmer  · 
From today's @KCStar, new #Mizzou AD Mack Rhoades believes he has landed a 'destination job' with Tigers: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-missouri/article13274396.html ...

[jbcarol]

"I don't care if you put Red Auerbach and John Wooden (at Mizzou), they were going to lose this year," Sampson said.

More than anything, Sampson believes in Anderson's new boss.

"Missouri's lucky," Sampson said. "They're getting a great, great AD."

Kim Anderson called an old friend. The next day, Mizzou would introduce Mack Rhoades as the school's new athletics director. Kelvin Sampson's boss at the University of Houston was about to become Anderson's new boss.

Anderson wanted a scouting report.

"He asked me, 'Kelvin, what am I getting?'" Sampson said. "I said, 'Kim, you're getting someone that's going to get in the bunker and go shoulder to shoulder with you.'

"That's what every coach wants. I told him, '(Rhoades) has a vision for the program and he'll work with you.'"

It's been 17 years since someone other than Mike Alden ran Mizzou's athletics department, so for Anderson and his colleagues, it's natural to wonder what they're getting in Rhoades, who will officially take office next month. When Missouri chancellor R. Bowen Loftin introduced Rhoades, 49, as MU's next AD two weeks ago, he focused on four qualities that led his search to Houston, two of which are vital to any AD job: working with coaches and raising money.

Rhoades' track record as a fundraiser speaks for itself in the form of Houston's year-old, $120 million football stadium and the $25 million, 53,000-square-foot basketball practice facility that's under construction.

When it comes to hiring and firing coaches, Rhoades' Houston legacy can't be measured in dollars and bricks.

His six years were marked by turnover, including 16 head coaching hires for 10 teams...