Big things are happening at Mizzou. A closer look at the man behind MU athletics

In the morning, Laird Veatch hops on his Peloton bike. The workout is one of his favorites: He used to enjoy lifting weights daily as a linebacker for Kansas State from 1990-94, but the former football team captain now only pumps iron occasionally because of back problems.

For Veatch, the Peloton is not just an easy, low-impact workout. It is a way he relieves and attempts to manage stress as Mizzou’s 22nd athletic director and its fourth in the last nine years.

“My wife would tell you I don’t always manage it well,” Veatch joked. “Having faith and trying to live fairly healthy, exercise, those kinds of things are the two biggest things that I try to lean on.”

A 2022 data set from Athlete Viewpoint and Athletic Director U, entitled “ADU Burnout,” revealed 61.2% of college administrators are at high risk of disengaging with their work. The report stated 85.2% face high risk of exhaustion, with 35.2% exhibiting a high risk of burnout.

While Veatch deals with stress daily as the athletic director of a Power Four school in the Southeastern Conference, he still tries to stay grounded in the expectations and demands the role entails.

“Just keeping perspective on the role and what we do every day, and recognizing while it’s changing, it’s stressful and it’s demanding. It’s hard. In some respects, it’s also still college sports,” Veatch said. “And we’re dealing with a fun, engaging group of young people and fans, and there’s a lot to enjoy and not let get to you, too.”

But what exactly is an AD in the age of revenue generation, talent acquisition and name, image and likeness policies?

A redefined role

Carla Rosa of myPerforma, an athletic relationship management platform, argues athletic directors now assume a role similar to that of sports agents.

In a 2023 article entitled “The Crucial Mindset Shift for Today’s Athletic Directors,” Rosa explained that ADs create environments in which student-athletes can be mentored and educated to build their brands.

Eric Morrison, Mizzou’s deputy director of athletics and chief of external relations, believes that the AD role has assumed a more corporate lean.

“The role of athletic director has really evolved into a chief executive officer type of role,” Morrison said. “The athletic director is the point of the spear on how Mizzou is represented but also presents itself in providing opportunity for student-athletes and coaches. At the same time, (the AD is) providing a fan experience that creates a value for our customer base.”

The expanded role of an AD in the 2024 collegiate landscape is one that was partly created as a result of the transfer portal, which launched Oct. 15, 2018, and the NCAA approving an NIL policy that took effect July 1, 2021.

Lincoln professor of business administration Dr. Troy Frank published a 2015 study in the Journal of Education & Social Policy in which he had interviewed ADs from the Big 12 Conference about their roles and responsibilities.

While Frank concluded in his paper that ADs are the new “corporate CEOs,” their outlook on their primary responsibilities varies when compared to Rosa and Morrison’s outlooks eight and nine years apart, respectively.

The aspect of the job that received the highest number of votes in requiring most of their time and energy was the personnel and staff category.

Frank’s study showed that ADs at a power conference school nine years ago were primarily engulfed in the internal day-to-day operations of the department, such as managing staff and resource allocation.

Missouri’s second-longest-tenured athletic director, Mike Alden (1998-2015), said the duty of an AD today is similar to the professional sports model, which he claimed revolves around talent acquisition, talent retention, data analytics valuing student-athletes while also fostering an environment and program with academic integrity, and a collegial mindset.

“Mizzou Athletics is a $140 million-a-year business, literally, corporation,” Alden said. “The reality of that is when I was in the AD role, we had 300 employees and 500 student-athletes. Now, it’s almost like we actually have 800 employees. And also, those employees that we’re talking about include the ‘talent-based’ piece.

“You’ve got to be the CEO that understands (the) quality control aspect, brand management, brand development, marketing and promotions, operational integrity, all these different types of things that a CEO of a corporation has to do. Laird has to do that now on a daily level and in a much higher level than we’ve had to do in college athletics before.”

Alden and Morrison credit Veatch’s ability to navigate the new era of college athletics through service and collaboration.

“He has a real strong moral compass,” Alden said. “As a leader, as a person, he really puts others in front of himself. He’s a servant leader.”

“He’s not a person that’s going to come in and tell staff exactly what to do and how to do it,” Morrison added. “He will provide a perspective or provide some experience, and then he allows people to do their job and at the end of the project or the time frame holds them accountable to what it is that was accomplished or was not accomplished.”

Learning from past MU experience

Veatch initially harnessed the leadership skills that have helped him as a power conference AD during his original time at Mizzou, from 1997-2002, working his last three years as the assistant athletic director for development. He was still involved with MU as the general manager of Mizzou Sports Properties and as the regional vice president for Learfield Sports from 2003-06 and 2006-10, respectively.

“I could see why he had been so successful as a student-athlete and as an administrator, because he was so detailed and focused but at the same time was a person you really enjoyed being around,” said Morrison, who was initially hired by MU as its associate of media relations in 1998.

At the time, Mizzou Athletics was amidst an internal transition phase, on the heels of appointing Alden athletic director.

The football team showed hints of success, securing bowl bids in 1997 and 1998 — the year of Alden’s arrival — and Norm Stewart wrapped up his 32nd and final season as coach of the men’s basketball team.

Alden, needing to create an entirely new culture and foundation for the department, had to work hands-on very deep within the organization, from the maintenance crew all the way to the development, revenue generation and exposure side of the department — the area in which Veatch worked.

“I inherited this young guy who was probably 6-foot-2, 6-3; he’s really fit, (and) he was a linebacker at Kansas State,” Alden said. “When I met him, I was just really impressed by the nonverbal side, just the person who came in, introduced himself, and then you get this whole combination of who he is as a person.”

Around the time Mizzou hired Quin Snyder to be the men’s basketball coach in April 1999, Alden and Veatch decided they were going to host a canoe float trip for the UM System Board of Curators and state legislators on the Gasconade River. It was an effort to connect the department to the institution’s mission and build statewide relationships.

Veatch’s personable demeanor on that trip opened Alden’s eyes to the type of worker and leader he was.

“There I am, watching Laird Veatch haul canoes up on the side of the river, make sure that we had food and we had beverages, was interacting with people at all different levels,” Alden said. “Here was a guy that was going to roll up his sleeves, do whatever it took.”

When Morrison became MU’s coordinator for suite operations and director of external operations from 2000-02 and 2002-04, respectively, he started working closely with Veatch. In the new roles, Morrison got to experience Veatch’s strong leadership and mentorship firsthand with Tailgate Mizzou, a fundraising event in the spring of 2001.

“After that, Laird gave myself and a colleague a little index card that was good for one free day off. It was just like this great little prize for having worked on this big event. And it was his way of really rewarding our effort,” Morrison said. “I’ve sort of always remembered how simple that was but yet how powerful it was to me.”

Living in Columbia as his forever home

On April 23, MU announced Veatch as its new athletic director after Desireé Reed-Francois left Feb. 19 for the same position at Arizona.

“It was like a homecoming for us, and so it was a proud moment,” Alden said of Veatch’s hiring. “It’s almost like (being) a big brother or parent — you’re looking at this kid that did all these things, and all of a sudden, they get a chance.”

Prior to accepting the role at Mizzou, Veatch served as Memphis’ AD from 2019-24.

“From a Mizzou perspective, as an alum, I certainly couldn’t have been happier to have a leader of his caliber want to take on the opportunity to lead our athletic department and lead my school,” Morrison said.

At his introductory news conference April 26, Veatch described Columbia as his “forever home,” emphasizing that he and his family — his wife, Brandy; three daughters, Jordyn, Taylor and Sydney; and son, Dru — would not be entering a theoretical transfer portal.

“I don’t think you can truly feel (the forever-home feeling) until you’re back and here and kind of experiencing it,” Veatch said. “I do remember literally driving down Stadium Boulevard and thinking, ‘Man, I forgot how awesome this place is.’

“You almost forget, after that much time, how awesome it is and how it just did feel so comfortable and good.”

One of Veatch’s favorite aspects of being back in Columbia is the ability to attend events and games with his family, which was not as feasible in a large city like Memphis, Tennessee. He also attributes Taylor and Sydney, who attend Kansas State, being within a reasonable driving distance from Columbia as a perk that allows this to happen.

In regard to Veatch’s No. 1 place to be in Columbia, his answer is simple.

“The football parking lots on a Saturday, the tailgates,” Veatch said. “It’s like this big family reunion. Everybody’s coming back, everybody’s happy and positive and just having a great time. I love that atmosphere.”

When not at a Mizzou game, fundraising event, church-related event or a tailgate, Veatch finds joy in simpler moments spent with his family.

“Being at the house, just being with the family and hanging out, it’s probably my favorite things,” he said. “We don’t get to do that a lot.”

Looking to the program’s future

Veatch started as MU’s athletic director May 1, and in the days since, the department has been very productive.

The Board of Curators approved a $250 million plan for the Memorial Stadium Improvements Project on Sept. 12, breaking ground on the north end zone before kickoff of Mizzou’s 28-21 Battle Line Rivalry win over Arkansas on Nov. 30.

On Oct. 2, Missouri was named the host of the NCAA DI Wrestling Championships and a DI men’s and women’s cross country regional in 2027.

Mizzou Athletics announced its “Will to Win” initiative Nov. 1, embracing revenue sharing, restructuring fundraising models and shifting price structures.

The key theme within all of these actions is revenue generation.

“We need to evolve our infrastructure, our approach, so that we can maximize the opportunity,” Veatch said. “I feel good about what we’re doing. We certainly haven’t got where we need to get, and I don’t know if you ever really do, but I feel good about the process.”

CNBC utilized information from the founder of Athletic Director U, Jason Belzer; the Department of Education’s Equity in Athletics Data Analysis; and the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for fiscal year 2023 to rank the 75 most valuable college athletic programs in an article released Thursday.

Missouri ranked 35th overall and 14th in the SEC in valuation at $590 million. The report also showed that the Tigers recorded $142 million in revenue generation in 2023.

CNBC senior sports reporter Michael Ozanian claimed in the report that the SEC is worth $13.3 billion, with an average value of $832 million per member institution. The average revenue generation per school was approximately $186 million in 2023.

Veatch and Mizzou Athletics have already taken steps to improve the school’s ranking by rebranding the Tiger Scholarship Fund — which he worked with heavily during his first stint in Columbia — into the “Mizzou Athletics Fund” and raising most football and men’s basketball season-ticket prices starting in 2025.

Veatch has also been considering other ways to rake in revenue, such as concerts.

“That’s something you’ve seen at a lot of schools, where they have tried to add a concert, two or three to their mix every year and expand the revenues from that,” he said. “So, we need to look at all the different revenue streams and find ways to continue to maximize those and look for new ones as well.”

Mizzou Athletics’ spending — MU finished the 2023 fiscal year in the black by $1 — is a huge part of why the school ranks so low amongst its conference counterparts in revenue generation. Veatch understands that and recognizes Mizzou’s need for responsibility in its spending.

“We’ve got to be really thoughtful about how we’re spending money and what we’re doing with resources we have or the ones we generate on top of that in the future,” Veatch said. “We’ve got to have ways to invest in winning but also never lose sight of the fact that we’ve got to provide the right kind of student-athlete experience and take care of our staff and people.”

The other elephant in the room for Veatch and the department is the constantly evolving NIL landscape.

If the much-anticipated House v. NCAA settlement gets final approval at a hearing April 7, former college student-athletes from as far back as June 15, 2016 — with a four-year statute of limitations — will receive approximately $2.8 billion in payouts for unrealized NIL opportunities.

Veatch confirmed that Mizzou plans to share the estimated $20-22 million of annual revenue with student-athletes at the start of the 2025-26 academic year to keep up with the competition in the SEC.

“It takes effort,” Veatch said. “We’ve got to really engage with not just our donor community but our corporate partner community. We’ll be pushing on a lot of different levels, and much of it is about working on and maintaining the relationships but also thinking differently than what we have in the past and being willing to get creative with those partners.”

Through all the daunting responsibilities of an athletic director in the modern age, Veatch also leans on his friends and family for support.

Sometimes, when Veatch has something on his mind or in need of consulting, he will take time out of his day to visit a local coffee shop. The trip is usually to the Lakota Coffee Company location on Ninth Street, but he occasionally pops into The Grind Coffee House, Shortwave Coffee or another spot.

When Veatch sits down, Alden is across from him. They share this time together every so often to chat about Veatch’s family, his home renovations, how things are at the office and how his staff is. Veatch may ask Alden about his family, bounce ideas off the former AD or seek comfort.

At the coffee shop, the roles have reversed from the teacher-pupil dynamic that was introduced in August 1998 and made Veatch the athletic director he is today.

When asked about what he hopes his legacy is as MU’s AD, Veatch emphasized that he’s not concerned so much with his own lasting memory but that of Mizzou Athletics.

“What I hope to be a part of is helping Mizzou realize its potential,” he said. “We’ve talked so much about being the only (power conference) school in the state and the opportunities that are here. We need to unlock that potential, and I think after my time here, I could look back and feel that I was a part of that.

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