AD?

[msu15]

Like Pat Hayden at USC (lawyer) or Dave Brandon at Michigan (CEO). What were those schools thinking?

Dave Brandon sucked as AD at Michigan.

[TALL DAWG]

LETS GO CHARLIE!

[Dawgface]

I'm out of the loop.....but Charlie who?

[baddmann]

I'm out of the loop.....but Charlie who?

Charlie Winfield

Founder of The Bulldog Initiative. You can click on the "About" tab on that website to get full background.

[Really Clark?]

Dave Brandon sucked as AD at Michigan.

Oh I didn't say he was good as an AD, just pointing out that not all came from athletic departments.

Ray Anderson at ASU is another. Actually has a JD from Harvard, was a sports lawyer / agent then worked in the NFL for several years as an Exec VP for football operations before taking the AD job at ASU.

[Bark]

Oh I didn't say he was good as an AD, just pointing out that not all came from athletic departments.

Ray Anderson at ASU is another. Actually has a JD from Harvard, was a sports lawyer / agent then worked in the NFL for several years as an Exec VP for football operations before taking the AD job at ASU.

Charlie is great and does a lot of great things for Mississippi State but we can't screw this hire up. We need him where he is; working on the NIL. Mississippi State athletics seems to be at a critical juncture with fan support. With the wrong hire we fall to Vandy level or with the right hire we can climb into the top half of the SEC. To me the single most important quality of a new AD I would be looking for is marketing. We need someone to come in a generate a buzz. We need butts in seats and money going to the NIL. Someone that's really good at marketing or has the ability to create a staff who are accomplished and let them run with it. I feel like we almost need a rebrand to appeal to a bigger audience. We need to attract new fans while retaining our current loyal fans. Winning will take care of a lot of that though. We need leadership that thinks outside the box and creates fan experiences that are new and exciting.

The ability to lead a group of coaches and keep morale up while pushing them to achieve is also important. Someone that can talk to the fans, listens and cares what they have to say.

Someone who will spend the money, not grow a rainy day fund. Spend the money on facility upgrades that will make it worth spending the money people spend to come to sporting events. Spend the money on making upgrades to give our student athletes the best chance to be their personal best on and off the field. Starkville is a great college town but it's still small. We need to make our facilities second to none to compete with others in recruiting, player retention, fan support, fan retention and attracting new fans.

Create a good workplace environment and togetherness with the staff to make it an attractive, fun place to work while also challenging them to win championships. Don't accept mediocrity.

This hire is really, really important. Don't screw it up, Keemun.