Culture Shift in athletics...https://louisiana.csod.com/ux/ats/ca...96?c=louisiana
-
-
Position Summary
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, a Carnegie R1 public research university, seeks a proven enterprise leader to serve as Chief Executive Officer of Louisiana Athletics. Reporting directly to the President and serving on the President’s Cabinet, the CEO will lead the strategy, financial sustainability, commercial growth, philanthropy, brand, partnerships, facilities, competitive investment, and public leadership of an NCAA Division I program in the Sun Belt Conference.
The CEO will turn the Ragin’ Cajuns’ distinctive identity, loyal supporters, facilities, and community ties into sustained net revenue, stronger student and fan engagement, and broad competitive success. The role calls for urgent financial and cultural transformation, measurable results, sound judgment, and an unwavering commitment to student-athlete welfare, academic achievement, and integrity. An Athletic Director/Chief Operating Officer reporting to the CEO will manage day-to-day athletics operations under delegated authority; the CEO retains final executive accountability for the enterprise.
Key Responsibilities:
Enterprise Leadership and Financial Stewardship
-Develop and execute a financially grounded, three-year strategy aligned with the President’s Louisiana Vision 2035 priorities and the University’s mission; lead the senior athletics team and establish clear decision rights with the Athletic Director/COO.
-Own budgets, multi-year forecasts, revenue-sharing obligations, contracts, staffing, capital priorities, and enterprise risk; strengthen controls, procurement, expense accountability, and transparent reporting.
-Establish verified baselines and measure recurring net revenue, operating performance, and institutional support using consistent accounting that distinguishes cash from commitments and one-time gains from durable improvement.
-Recruit, develop, evaluate, and hold accountable high-performing leaders; make difficult personnel and resource decisions with urgency and integrity.
Revenue Growth and External Partnerships
-Integrate ticketing, pricing, premium seating, sponsorships, multimedia rights, licensing, philanthropy, naming rights, hospitality, parking, events, digital products, and new ventures around net contribution and renewal.
-Personally cultivate major donors, corporate partners, sponsors, and community leaders; coordinate prospect management, brand strategy, and revenue attribution with the Ragin Cajun Athletics Foundation, University Advancement and Strategy, and -Communications and Marketing.
-Evaluate public-private partnerships and other capital or commercial opportunities with disciplined risk analysis and measurable returns.
Student, Fan and Community Engagement
-Make athletics central to student life and build a distinctly Ragin’ Cajun game-day and year-round culture that increases student participation, attendance, football and basketball demand, season-ticket retention, and community ownership.
-Use research, pricing, data, storytelling, and digital engagement to deepen fan relationships and increase demand across Acadiana and beyond.
-Competitive Excellence and Student-Athlete Success
-Set sport-specific expectations for competitive results, academic success and progress, coach performance, roster stability, efficient investment, and student-athlete experience.
-Oversee strategy for NIL, revenue sharing, recruiting, media, conference positioning, and evolving college athletics economics while protecting health, safety, academic integrity, and NCAA and conference compliance.
-Exercise final executive authority over head-coach decisions, senior personnel, budgets, competitive investment, major contracts, conference representation, and crisis management.
Facilities and Institutional Collaboration
-Develop a financially sound, year-round athletics and entertainment strategy for Cajun Field, the Cajundome, premium spaces, parking, hospitality, events, and related assets; evaluate each opportunity by net contribution and community value.
-Collaborate with Finance, Academic Affairs, Student Success, Advancement, alumni, public officials, and conference leadership; represent Louisiana Athletics with credibility and visible community leadership.
-Report progress to the President through a quarterly dashboard of financial, commercial, engagement, competitive, academic, student-athlete, facility, and leadership outcomes.
This position is equivalent to a vice president position that reports directly to the president.
-
Great News to have a CEO. I don't remember us every having an athletic CEO.Comment
-
our new president seems to understand that students follow sports and has been in the tg area and stands talking and listening to fans. He also was at a RR livestream last week and sat and listened to the fans ideas and input. I don't ever remember seeing a UL president interacting with the season ticket holders other than the premium seating type of fans.Comment
-
Is there a human alive that can meet this criteria? Maybe “A I” can do it.Comment
-
That's what you get when the job description is written by academics with no background in athletics. NO one in athletics was even aware this position was being created or that the job was posted.Comment
-
Language in posting just goes to show the mess Maggard (and to an extent TJoe) left behind. Lots left to fix.Comment
-
Anyone got Mark Hudspeth email. Yall think he leave his Gulfshores gig to come back as our CEO, someone needs to shoot him an email, and ask him to apply!!Comment
-
Couple of points. One is that a large part of the deficit at UL came from outside athletics. Two- In 2024 94% of all Division 1 athletic programs LOST money. 49 of 69 P5's LOST money. Some of you act as though UL has an issue that no one else in the country is facing. And how in the heck have you missed that huge deficit at TSAB. Hopefully you are over on TigerDroppings giving them more hell than your giving us.
Ramesh and those from research he dragged along with him may well fix the deficit but be careful what you ask for. We might just have the biggest stadium in NAIA.Comment
-
Nice CEO job description. what if any, is the pay differential between a CEO and job equivalent vice president?
I hope it works. Geaux Cajuns!
Comment
-
The only reason this is an issue and not an issue elsewhere is because the State has an artificially low percentage of the budget allowed for athletics.
Ironically this low percentage was pushed through by T-Joe before he came to Louisiana and learned how athletics woeks.Comment
Comment