UNC Charlotte Chancellor Sharon Gaber said that she “sees a healthy candidate pool for the school to find its next athletic director” and anticipates a decision “by early March,” according to Erik Spanberg of the CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL. Gaber said that she and the university “are ‘looking for the best possible candidate (who understands) the changing landscape’ of college athletics.” Last fall, UNC Charlotte fired Mike Hill after nearly eight years as AD -- and “13 months after he received a four-year contract extension.” Gaber “leads a four-person committee leading the search, with help from industry consultant TurnkeyZRG.” The consultant, “hired last month, will be paid $75,000 by the school.” Under Hill, Charlotte “moved to the more competitive American Athletic Conference in 2023 and, last year, broke ground” on a $70M “expansion of Jerry Richardson Stadium, the school’s on-campus football home.” Annual operating budgets “grew to nearly” $50M from $29.5M during Hill’s tenure, but the “49ers have yet to be competitive in football, the most lucrative sport.” Gaber said that “‘there’s been lots of interest’ in the Charlotte AD job.” When asked about the importance of candidates’ business credentials, she said, “Somebody who has experience generating new revenue is exciting to me” (CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/26).
UNC Charlotte looking to find new AD by early March
