COLUMBIA, Mo. — The University of Missouri will pay at least $125,000 to the search firm it tapped to aid in its hunt for a new athletics director.
Mizzou will pay that search fee plus expenses in two installments to Turnkey ZRG, according to a copy of the contract between MU and the executive search firm, which the Post-Dispatch obtained through a public records request.
Turnkey will handle much of the hiring process, per the agreement. It will develop a position overview for potential job candidates and establish which criteria are important to the university.
According to the agreement, “Turnkey ZRG shall manage candidate communications, as well as the vetting/interview process.†That includes phone interviews and reference checks.
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Turnkey will provide three candidate assessments, suggesting that is the target number of finalists for the Mizzou job.
The agreement between the search firm and the university includes a one-year warranty period if the eventual new athletics director is terminated, in which case Turnkey would conduct another search at no additional charge.
Mizzou authorized the agreement with Turnkey on Feb. 29. The school left blank a field in the authorization form for a target hire date, as well as areas for target salary and compensation.
Turnkey has also been hired by the likes of Iowa, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Miami and the NCAA.
MU also recently established a search committee to oversee the process. That group includes four members of the UM System Board of Curators, some high-ranking university staff and three prominent donors. What it doesn’t have is any athletics department employees, recent athletes or people of color.
It has been more than two weeks since the departure of Desiree Reed-Francois as the school’s last athletics director. The search for her replacement now appears likely to extend through a significant portion of March.