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COLUMBIA, Mo. • Having attended more introductions of athletics directors and head coaches than the programs I’ve covered would have preferred to host, I can tell you there usually comes a point in most where a new hire does something, usually forced and often awkward, to attempt to show fans and media they are getting familiar with the place.

There was no need for Laird Veatch to reach into the bag of cheap tricks during Friday afternoon’s introduction.

Three of his four children were born here in Boone County and once donned Tiger onesies. Former Mizzou AD Joe Castiglione hired him to his first athletics department job at Mizzou. Former Mizzou AD Mike Alden mentored him, driving him and other members of the so-called “Alden’s Army� hard in order to test their commitment to this line of work. Late Mizzou legend John Kadlec and longtime equipment manager Bob Stanley poured into him.

One time, during the summer of 1997, while assigned the lowest-of-low Tiger Scholarship Fund duties of driving a stick-shift diesel truck hauling a trailer crammed with donated cattle that were destined to become steaks fed to Mizzou football players, he and fellow AD in training Ross Bjork, who is now leading Ohio State, scraped the Booneville bridge. Bjork, allegedly, nearly lost an arm. Good thing he didn’t, because the two still had to unload the cattle upon their arrival. There was slipping and sliding and, yes, a very bad smell.

“Not the ideal experience for a young fundraiser,� Veatch said with a smile. “But it is an example of what it was like in the old days. So, when any of my staff wants to question my work ethic, now they know the Mizzou meat story.�

As Mizzou cycled through various short-timers at the athletics director position ever since Alden’s 17-year run ended in 2015, it became odd to observe Alden’s AD version of a coaching tree growing all over the country while Mizzou struggled to keep the same AD around for the amount of time it took incoming freshmen to become graduates.Ìý

“We believe this is a high-profile job,� president and MU chancellor Mun Choi said. “There’s so much momentum that we have. But we needed someone who is going to carry that momentum with us for the long term.�

Veatch, 52, says he’s here from Memphis to change the turnstile trend, among other things.

Football, football, football is the primary focus of this athletics department for the foreseeable future, as broadcasted by the search committee and pinpointed by Veatch in his first few sentences. The Tigers are on a College Football Playoff mission. Everybody else, get on board or consider getting out.

Dollars, dollars, dollars will be another one. Raising a lot more of them. Reallocating some — maybe a lot — of them throughout the department’s budget once Veatch gets his hands on the books, hinted Choi. Maximizing the return on all of them, especially the ones sent the department’s way from the university side.

You know what would be a great help for both of those top-priority goals?

An AD who plants roots and nurtures them. One who excels at building and maintaining relationships with everyone from Mizzou's many campus decision makers to donors, current and potential. Someone who responds to hard times by looking for solutions here instead of opportunities elsewhere.

Veatch said all the right things Friday, no doubt.

But before we get too far into the latest homecoming celebration thrown on the campus that claims it invented the tradition back in 1911, this lifetime Mizzou follower feels an obligation to point out a couple things.

One, sometimes the play just doesn’t work.

Former men’s basketball coach Kim Anderson was a homecoming hire. Same for former football coach Barry Odom. Even Cuonzo Martin, the men’s basketball coach after Anderson, was presented with the homecoming angle due to his childhood in East ºüÀêÊÓƵ.

And two, a true Hollywood homecoming for Veatch would probably mean him being introduced as the AD at Kansas State instead of Mizzou.

The straight-shooting former Wildcats linebacker admitted Friday that he once thought that would indeed be his path. The native of Manhattan, Kansas, did pick Bill Snyder’s team over Bob Stull’s Tigers before becoming a team captain. And he did for a bit seem on track to captain the K-State athletics department years after his transition from player to future athletics director began at Mizzou. He climbed there from associate AD in charge of capital support to interim AD at Kansas State before Gene Taylor was hired instead.

Veatch can thank that twist for his SEC experience as a high-ranking athletics department staffer at Florida, which helped lead to his first shot at the big chair in Memphis, which led him back to Mizzou.

But not the first time around.

Veatch was the only one who brought it up Friday, but Mizzou passed on him for this last time. He was a candidate and believed to be a finalist before Choi and the previous AD search committee instead hired Desiree Reed-Francois from UNLV. She didn't last three years. Veatch kept plugging away at Memphis.

“He didn’t change in terms of his core values and his accomplishments,� Choi said. “But he’s had about two and a half, three more years of experience. And his ability to transform Memphis athletics, to be able to get a plan for a $220 million facility improvement, was something we saw as a very positive development. He’s still the very dedicated, committed individual. We’re happy he’s here.�

(Don't forget that brand new $25 million name, image and likeness deal for Memphis with FedEx, too.)

Veatch isn’t the only one who’s changed.

Mizzou now has a surging football program, not a meandering one. It’s going all in on an Alabama model that suggests pushing the bulk of its chips into the middle of the football table can become a jackpot for all sports and the university as a whole.

“College athletics is changing,� Choi said. “Two and a half, three years ago, we didn’t have the incredible growth and NIL opportunities, as well as the competition from other universities in the SEC. We needed someone who is going to take us ahead of the curve, to think about what is coming down in college sports and preparing us as an institution to be best positioned to win.�

Robin Wenneker, chair of the board of curators, took a lot of social-media heat after Reed-Francois bolted to Arizona due to a clashing of visions with university leadership and a disinterest in increased oversight from the board. Wenneker already has a nickname for VeatchÌý— "ADVeatch"Ìý— and is not being shy about her hopes for this hire, referring to it as a "momentum investment" in the forward progress Mizzou has developed and, "a signature moment in the history of Mizzou athletics." No pressure, right?

Veatch chuckled and shook his head when asked if he considered not chasing the Mizzou job after the Tigers prioritized someone else before. He jumped at the chance to make a run at the job again, this time with deeper front-line experience at a time where his fundraising prowess is in great demand. He found a familiar place that had new reasons to believe it’s going places, one yearning for a familiar face who sees Mizzou as a permanent stop instead of a stepping stone.

“Not everybody gets a second chance,� he said. “I’m happy I got one.�

Homecoming has always been a bit of a funny term because many of the folks who look forward to it and revel in its pomp and circumstance didn’t grow up here or sometimes even near this campus. Instead they experienced something while here that made them feel at home. That’s what happened for Veatch, and that’s why after strengthening his credentials along the way it's not hard to see him as the right hire at the right time.Ìý

Now, he has to do something others since Alden could not or would not doÌý— stand the test of time.

“This,� Veatch said during Friday’s introduction, “is where we want to be. We have been ready for our forever home. We want to be a place where we can invest in lifelong friendships. This was always it, we just didn’t know. Just to be clear, there is no transfer portal for the Veatch family. We are committed. This is where it all started.�

Hopefully, for Mizzou, this is where the AD turnstile spin ends.

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Add three players with area college ties to the list of new NFL pros.

Illinois’ Jonny Newton and Missouri’s Ennis Rakestraw Jr. were both picked in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft Friday evening. The Washington Commanders took Newton, a defensive tackle, with the 36th overall pick. And the Detroit Lions selected Rakestraw, a cornerback, at No. 61 overall.

In the third round, the Green Bay Packers took Mizzou linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper with the 91st overall pick.

Former Francis Howell Central star Dominck Puni — a lineman who did not allow a sack in high school — went to the San Francisco 49ers in the third round. He spent his college years at Central Missouri, Tennessee Tech and Kansas.

Both second-round players seemed to be on the cusp of being first-rounders Thursday, but Mizzou’s Darius Robinson — who went to the Arizona Cardinals with the 27th pick — was the only MU or Illinois player to earn that distinction. Still, Newton and Rakestraw were well-positioned on most draft boards heading into Friday’s second and third rounds.

The Commanders need Newton’s pass-rushing prowess, having finished near the bottom of the NFL in sacks last season. Rakestraw will join the Lions, who have considerable momentum following a historic playoff run last season.

Jer’Zhan Newton, who goes by Jonny, entered the draft as one of top-ranked interior defensive linemen. A record-breaking pool of offensive players selected in the first round, however, meant that he had to wait until the second day to hear his name called from the stage in Detroit.

He spent four seasons at Illinois, breaking out during his final season to record 7.5 sacks in 11 starts. That was good for first-team All-American, Big Ten defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten honors.

Draft analysts were drawn to Newton’s power and athleticism, which drew some pundits to suggest his twitch and aggression off the line of scrimmage alone were enough to warrant a top 20 pick. Still, some concerns with his size — at 6-1, 304 pounds, he’s on the shorter end of modern interior defensive linemen in the NFL — lowered his stock.

Newton went later than expected in the draft, especially after the Atlanta Falcons traded up to pick No. 35 to select a different defensive tackle — though Washington took Newton with the very next pick.

Rakestraw slid in the draft, sinking to the back end of the second round.

Hopper was picked earlier than expected, given some injuries that limited his final season. But he nonetheless went in the third round — a birthday present, given that he was picked on that day.

MU cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine, who led the Southeastern Conference in passes defended last season, is likely to go in Saturday's fourth round.

Left tackle Javon Foster might not be too far behind him. Safety Jaylon Carlies and running back Cody Schrader are also in line to be picks on the third day of the draft. Though his draft stock largely depends on how many specialists go off the draft board, kicker Harrison Mevis could potentially hear his name called, too.

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COLUMBIA, Mo. — They were the two linebackers in the office.

Barry Odom, fresh off a hard-hitting playing career at Missouri, was a new intern with Mizzou athletics’ fundraising arm. He was working for a man not far removed from his own tenure as a starting linebacker, albeit at Kansas State: Laird Veatch.

They connected quickly.

“For whatever reason, we hit it off really quick,� Odom said. The positional overlap helped. So did Odom’s immediate respect for the way Veatch ran things.

“When I started in the athletic department, he was young and a guy that, in the business, I already had a lot of respect for,� Odom said. “Just the way he handled himself around the office, the way he was able to deal with the donors.�

Some 24 years ago, Odom and Veatch were just an intern and assistant athletics director, respectively, at MU. They’ve remained close friends as their careers have blossomed and led them to prominent roles at the same university. Odom became Missouri’s head football coach for four seasons.

And Veatch is Mizzou’s new athletics director, set for his official introduction at 3 p.m. Friday.

Their relationship over the years has almost been seamless. Almost.

Veatch’s first assignment for Odom back in the day was a deceptively unpleasant one. The MU athletics department was restructuring donor seating within the Hearnes Center. And somebody had to make the phone calls to inform some donors that their seats were moving from right on the court to significantly farther back.

Veatch delegated the task to Odom.

“(Veatch) had pretty good fun with that, putting me on that job,� Odom, now the football coach at UNLV, chuckled. “I’ve never let him forget it.�

The new Missouri AD’s career took him from two stints in Columbia to several years of rapid advancement within the Kansas State athletics department, a couple of years with Florida and more than four years in the big chair at Memphis.

Friday’s introduction will be a homecoming of sorts for Veatch, who’s landing his first Power Five athletics director job with a former employer still supported by friendly faces.

There’s former Mizzou AD Mike Alden, for example, whose 17 years in charge of the Tigers’ athletics department overlapped with Veatch — making MU’s newest hire part of “Alden’s Army� of an administration tree.

Alden met Veatch almost immediately upon the former’s arrival in Columbia and found himself struck by the latter’s personality.

“You’ve got a former linebacker at Kansas State that’s really fit, good-looking guy, very polished — very strong first impression,� Alden said. “I was impressed by his initial introduction, based upon his style, his ease, his confidence but also his humility.�

Alden was sure to give Veatch plenty of responsibility at Missouri. Veatch managed the Tiger Scholarship Fund giving program and directed a seven-figure capital campaign.

It was that stretch that began to give Veatch a reputation as a standout fundraiser, a niche in the college athletics sphere he continued to carve out. That’s where he started at K-State, working on fundraising for $210 million in facility projects.

Those who have seen Veatch in action attest he has an intangible ability to connect with people that produces tangible results.

“He is relational,� Alden said. “And really, in any kind of role in leadership but in particular in a revenue generation side, somebody that is relational certainly has a chance to really be successful.�

Fundraising was a vital skill Missouri’s search committee targeted during the hiring process. With a $250 million renovation of the Memorial Stadium north concourse — half of which will come from donations — approved last week, there was a pressing target established before Veatch had even signed his contract with MU. And that deal includes salary incentives for hitting to-be-determined revenue and fundraising goals.

But what may ultimately impress Mizzou the most is Veatch’s ability to impact the athletics department beyond an influx of donations.

“I’ve watched him mature and grow and expand as an inclusive leader — not as a fundraiser, right?� Alden said. “As a leader who happens to have the ability at a high, high level to generate a lot of revenue. And there’s a difference there.�

Veatch seemed to jump from fundraiser to overall leader at Kansas State, when his job title took that leap, leading to a stint as the Wildcats’ interim athletics director. That meant broadening his expertise from fundraising and media — Veatch was, for a time, Learfield’s general manager of Mizzou Sports Properties — to everything else that goes on in an athletics department.

Shortly after his retirement in 2015, Alden visited Leatch in Manhattan, Kansas, to see that in action.

“Seeing the subtle, direct or indirect, or the verbal or nonverbal respect that Laird had throughout the entire program at Kansas State,� Alden said, “I saw that, and I’m going, ‘Yeah.’ ... In my mind, there was no doubt that he was going to be a big-time Power Five, now Power Four, AD somewhere in the country at some point. I had a personal hope that someday that could be at a place like Missouri. But you never know how that’s going to work.�

It did, but not before Veatch landed his first AD job at Memphis. It was there, amid a pandemic and name, image and likeness rights-induced overhaul of the college sports landscape, that he seemed to fully grasp the broader reality of being a sports administrator on a university campus.

“He never sat back and was satisfied with where he was or where his organization was, was never dissuaded from understanding how critically important athletics can be for an institution,� Alden said. “But it’s not the most important thing. He never lost sight of that, whether he was in the SEC or whether he was running his own program at Memphis or he was here with us at Mizzou. Wherever he was, he never lost sight of the fact that it’s a really important asset for an institution but it’s not the most important thing that happens at a university. It just happens to be a great asset that you have to capitalize on.�

Veatch will return to Missouri with the full extent of his experience — football team captain under legendary coach Bill Snyder, top fundraiser under Alden, athletics director during an evolutionary period of college sports — in tow. He was developing his skill set and style during his last stint in Columbia. Now, MU hopes he can sustain momentum with the growth he’s found over the past two decades.

“I think it’s a grand slam hire for Mizzou. He’s tremendous in every way,� Odom said. “He’s going to be able to galvanize the fan and donor base of Mizzou. He has enough old-school principles, thoughts and beliefs but also is on the cutting edge of what college athletics is today.�

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Darius Robinson got the phone call of a lifetime.

The former Missouri star went in the first round of this year’s NFL draft as a prime-time pick for his upcoming pro career. Robinson, a versatile defensive lineman, went to the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 27 pick.

Robinson’s selection is particularly rewarding, given that he was one of 13 prospects invited to the green room at the event in Detroit, his hometown. He arrived in a flashy outfit, complete with a blue, teal and purple-toned jacket, black bow tie, glossy shoes and bejeweled purple sunglasses.

He’s the first Mizzou player to be selected in the first round since defensive end Charles Harris went to the Miami Dolphins with the 22nd overall pick of the 2017 draft.

Still left on the board at the end of the first round was Illinois defensive tackle Johnny Newton, who was looking to give Illinois back-to-back first round picks after defensive back Devon Witherspoon went to the Seattle Seahawks with the fifth pick of last year’s draft.

Considered a possible but rather unlikely first-rounder was MU cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr., who remains on the draft board after Thursday’s first round. He remains one of the best prospects available ahead of the start of the second round on Friday.

Robinson played at MU for five years. In terms of projecting his fit in the NFL, he’s been something of a challenging prospect to evaluate. He spent the majority of his college career playing defensive tackle but spaced out to the edge for his final season.

There was benefit to the move. Even while battling through a nagging calf injury, Robinson managed 14 tackles for a loss and 8½ sacks. Seven of those sacks came during an especially productive stretch of seven consecutive games with a sack.

But his experience in college and frame — 6-foot-5, 285 pounds — complicates where he’ll slot in on an NFL defensive line. Robinson isn’t quite as lean or quick as most modern edge rushers, nor does he have the overwhelming strength of most NFL interior defensive linemen. What he does offer, though, is versatility in where he could line up, and the flexibility to learn new techniques.

Jer’Zhan Newton, who goes by Johnny, entered the draft as one of the top-ranked interior defensive linemen. He spent four seasons at Illinois, finding remarkable success during his final season.

Eleven starts for the Illini led to 7½ sacks and a handful of postseason accolades: first-team All-American, Big Ten defensive player of the year, first-team All-Big Ten.

His power and athleticism stood out to draft analysts, who praised his twitch and aggression. Newton also showed a good ability to read what was going on in the backfield while shedding blockers. There did seem to be some concern with his size — at 6-1, 304 pounds, he’s more compact than most NFL D-linemen — but his skill set seemed likely to assuage most of those worries.

Rakestraw ultimately faced an uphill battle to a spot in the first-round. The sports hernia injury that limited him during the 2023 college season and required postseason surgery also hampered his participation in the offseason workouts that are hallmarks of the pre-draft process.

While he wasn’t the most productive Mizzou corner during his four seasons with the Tigers — Kris Abrams-Draine, who may be a Friday selection, holds that distinction — Rakestraw did emerge as a solid tackler who holds up well in man coverage. His ability to stick with receivers bodes well for an NFL career, even with concerns over his health and speed.

Rakestraw received some first-round buzz but consistently seemed more likely to be an early second-round selection. The Houston Texans, who have the 42nd overall pick, remain a team to watch — he took an official visit there shortly after Mizzou’s March pro day.

Abrams-Draine remains the primary MU player to watch on Day 2 of the draft. Offensive lineman Javon Foster could also plausibly go in the second or third round if a team is strongly attracted to his potential.

The second round of the draft begins at 6 p.m. Friday.

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Bring your Tigers football, basketball and recruiting questions, and talk to Eli Hoff in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday.

Transcript

Eli ±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýMorning, all. Another busy week in the Mizzou universe, eh? Let's dive right in and get to your questions.

²ú¾±²µ°ù´Ç²Ô:ÌýEli, what is the current status of the mens Bball team, how many and who are they are on it, are they still looking for portal transfers, etc.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýI'll go position by position to answer this one but start with the big picture. I have 14 players set to be on the roster for next year. I'd expect there to be one more addition to roll with 15, which was the plan for last season. Two of those 15 will have to be off scholarship, but NIL makes that really more of a nominal distinction (since there can only be 13 scholarship players).

At point guard, the presumed starter will be Tony Perkins, the Iowa transfer. Anthony Robinson II is in line to be the back-up there. Those are the only two true point guards on the roster.

At the combo guard spot/s (the 2 and the 3, assuming Gates wants more of a guard-type player at the small forward spot): Tamar Bates seems like a starter. Northern Kentucky transfer Marques Warrick is probably competing with Caleb Grill for the other starting spot. Incoming freshman Annor Boateng is probably getting minutes there and maybe competes for a starting role as the season goes on. Freshman Antonio Barrett is a depth piece there.

At the power forward spot — and I could see Gates using one of these guys at the 3 if he wants to go big with his lineup — there's Duke transfer Mark Mitchell, UT-Martin transfer Jacob Crews, Trent Pierce, Aidan Shaw and incoming freshman Marcus Allen. Those are listed in my guess at who's a priority when it comes to playing time. But they all have their own styles, so again, I think you probably see some combos of them.

At center, there are only two freshmen: Peyton Marshall and Trent Burns. No disrespect to them, but I'd be surprised if Gates feels comfortable rolling with two freshmen at the 5 to start the. I could see him making an add here. Otherwise I'd expect to see more Aidan Shaw at the 5, Mark Mitchell at the 5 or something like that, which came out sometimes last year.

The only departure I haven't written about is Kaleb Brown, who entered the portal this week. He missed almost the entire season with a stress fracture in his shin. He was in the portal last year, too, but decided to come back. Looks like that won't be the case this time around.

Larry M:ÌýThanks for the chat. Got to be the most excitement at MU in decades. This week there was an Associated Press article on an NCAA NIL ruling. To quote the article: "Athletes are not obligated to accept assistance from the school and must maintain authority over the terms in their NIL agreements. Beginning Aug. 1, member schools will be permitted to increase NIL-related support only for athletes who disclose their NIL arrangements."

Question: What the H does this mean? Is this a major departure of current workings? Does this mean LB3 would have to disclose his ties to chips and law firms before he gets any NIL money form MU? Can you provide comment on this. Thanks

Hoff:ÌýI'm going to readily admit I don't know the answer to this. And I'm fine saying that. Mizzou employs multiple people — a whole department — whose job is simply compliance. That means understanding NCAA rules and making sure the whole athletics department meets them. Understanding this stuff quite literally takes multiple full-time jobs. That said, I take it to mean that schools can assist athletes with getting NIL deals — that's the big takeaway. And that to do that, athletes have to be willing to disclose with the school what NIL deals they have. So Burden would have to tell Mizzou what his deal with the chips is for MU to be able to help him get other deals. I don't imagine this has anything to do with the general public knowing anything — transparency has never, never, never been a priority in the NIL age. But as always, the NCAA doesn't really have control, state legislatures do, and schools are always going to push the envelope. I wouldn't think too much of it.

senior scramble:ÌýGot to admit I was wrong on women's Mizzou basketball getting any players out of the portal. They still need a couple of decent Bigs to be able to compete in the SEC. I am also surprised none of the good young players haven't entered the portal. On the men's side it is hard not to be impressed with the players Gates has got out of the Portal. I am excited the new coach can help our Bigs, make them more of a factor , maybe we will be able to rebound. Any word on if Grill is coming back. Thanks for the chat.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýOn the young players sticking around, this is one of the things I think I'd sort of mentioned at the beginning of the "will Pingeton be fired" discussion a couple of months ago: She has a young core that seems to like her which could be jeopardized by firing her. So I'm not surprised they're staying.

The women's team definitely needs some help down low and a replacement for Mama Dembele. I don't know enough about the few transfer portal adds to say those voids have been filled to any degree. But it shows that Pingeton is still able to get some things done this offseason.

Gates' ability as a recruiter is definitely showing this offseason. For all the questions of his coaching ability, his recruiting sure should never be doubted. Grill still seems geared to be coming back. I haven't heard anything to the contrary. He was at one of the offseason fan caravans last week, which also suggests he's coming back.

DW Burkhardt:ÌýEli - If you had to lay money today on who the starting RB would be for Mizzou week one, who would it be? That's the position that most concerns me going into next season.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýThere will be multiple. I'm quite confident in that. Probably Marcus Carroll and Nate Noel. What shouldn't be forgotten from the start of last season: The plan was for Nathaniel Peat and Cody Schrader to split carries. And that's just what they did for the first couple games of the season until Schrader started doing what he did all season. I suspect this coaching staff will look to do the same. Could one back emerge over the rest? Sure, but it's safer to assume multiple will be getting touches.

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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Laird Veatch kept smiling.

Seated on an elevated table before a semi-formal crowd inside Missouri’s new indoor football practice facility, the Tigers’ new athletics director looked from one side of the group to another. A thin smile formed. He refocused on the words of the speaker — his boss, UM System President Mun Choi, was praising his hire — only to do the same thing again, letting a subtle grin settle in as his default expression.

Mizzou introduced Veatch as its 22nd athletics director Friday afternoon. He’ll officially start May 1, though he started meeting with coaches, staff, donors, fans and media early.

And right off the bat, Veatch seemed happy to be there.

‘This was always it’

Veatch’s hire at Mizzou is something of a homecoming, since he spent some of his formative days as an administrator of the Tiger Scholarship Fund some two decades ago. And while he played college football at Kansas State and worked in the Wildcats’ athletics department for a significant period of time, a move to Columbia is a move closer to both his and his wife’s families.

To be taking an athletics director job at a place he already has been was enough to have Veatch choking up on stage during Friday’s introduction.

“I know how cliché this is, but it’s a dream come true,� he said, directing his gratitude to MU’s search committee. “Thank you for making my dreams come true.�

Veatch said he and his family are looking for a place to settle in the long term, which appealed to Missouri and its need for stability within the big chair. That it’s somewhere they’ve already been — Veatch’s three daughters were all born in Columbia — sweetens the deal.

“This was always it, and we just didn’t know,� Veatch said.

A quick start to fundraising

Friday’s talking points weren’t all broad-stroke pleasantries, though. Veatch quickly turned to matters of dollars and cents in explaining why he so dearly valued his past tenure at Mizzou.

“This is where I fell in love with the profession, and in particular fundraising and in particular the relationships that can be built through it and around it,� he said. “I love how college athletics pulls people together, particularly in a college town like this, particularly when it’s literally the center of the state.�

The Tigers targeted a high-level fundraiser in their AD search. As Choi attested, there’s a pressing target no longer on the horizon but in immediate need of funds.

“We have some big steps ahead,� Choi said. “The Curators and the administration announced the $250 million Memorial Stadium project, and we need to raise the money. He’s going to help us do that.�

Half of that project’s cost is expected to come from donations. It’ll be an early test for Veatch, who plans to make fundraising one of his first tasks, even while he’s getting settled into the job.

As he talked about his passion for fundraising, his pitch to future donors began to show.

“I can’t wait to get back out there,� Veatch said. “I will be jumping back out, I will be getting to every corner of the state. I’m going to see old friends and I’m going to make new ones and I’m going to ask for your help. So, to be clear, that’s the biggest thing I can do, is ask for you to invest in that. Because revenue, like it or not, is the front line of competitiveness in college athletics now. We need your help. We need your support.�

Fundraising seems ingrained with who Veatch is as an athletics administrator and leader. In a sense, it’s in his blood — his dad sold life insurance, giving Veatch an appreciation for the craft of sales.

“I also like seeing people come together to invest in something and the pride and the joy and the fun and the impact that that has,� he said.

More corporate NIL on the way?

Planned football stadium renovations weren’t the only target for future funds discussed by Veatch.

He praised the name, image, likeness rights-focused legislation passed in Missouri last year that gave MU a leg up on other schools in what it could do for athletes within that realm. Even from a distance, it has stood out to other administrators in the college sports space.

“The fact that the athletic department, the university, the Curators and the state all came together real early on to identify a potential pathway to allow us to compete at an even higher level is awesome,� Veatch said. “I mean, what that could mean in terms of our ability to continue in that space is important. We’re at a time in college athletics unlike it has ever been, and there’s opportunity in that. What I really appreciate is that they saw that opportunity and they’re willing to get aggressive and pursue that and position us to be competitive.�

And while the Tigers have drawn on donors to fund the NIL collectives that have become commonplace around the country, Veatch — who secured a $25 million NIL deal with FedEx for Memphis athletes just last week in his previous job — signaled an emphasis on forging more corporate deals.

“I believe that major corporate NIL support has got to be part of the solution to the future of college athletics,� Veatch said. “We are in such a time of transition, the way that NIL in particular has evolved, the necessity of collectives is very real. But in my mind, you have to find a way to get back to what NIL was originally intended, which was more of a traditional endorsement or sponsorship directly to the student-athletes. I believe that is a more sustainable model, so we’re going to need more major corporations in the state of Missouri and beyond to invest in our student-athletes that way.�

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