That’s that.
The UM System Board of Curators officially approved the contract of new Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch during a special meeting on Wednesday afternoon, a university spokesperson confirmed to the Columbia Daily Tribune.
The curators quickly went into an executive session in their 3 p.m. meeting, with four statutes cited to take the meeting behind closed doors. One of them — 610.021(3) RSMo — concerns “hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting of particular employees by a public governmental body.”
Guess who?
Veatch is now officially Missouri’s athletic director.
Here are the details of his five-year contract, provided in a memorandum of understanding signed Tuesday, April 23, and sent to the Columbia Daily Tribune by a university spokesperson.
What is Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch’s salary?
Laird Veatch will earn $1.3 million dollars in annual guaranteed compensation at Missouri. His deal is due to end April 30, 2029.
His deal is broken down into three parts: Base salary ($900,000 per year); Non-Salary compensation ($200,000); and deferred compensation ($200,000).
Both his base salary and non-salary compensation will be paid in equal monthly installments. His deferred compensation will be paid annually.
Veatch’s deal also includes several merit incentives.
The new Missouri athletic director can earn $50,000 if Missouri wins an SEC football title, and can add another $50,000 if Eli Drinkwitz’s team claims a national championship.
For men’s basketball, Veatch is awarded $10,000 if Dennis Gates’ Missouri team wins an SEC title; a further $15,000 if the Tigers make the Final Four; and an additional $25,000 if they take home a national title.
If Missouri student-athletes graduate at a 90% combined success rate across all sports, Veatch makes $25,000. If Veatch reaches “philanthropy, ticket sales and other revenue generation targets set annually” by UM System President Mun Choi, Veatch earns $75,000. Those targets are currently unknown.
Before leaving for the open AD role at Arizona, former Missouri athletic director Desireé Reed Francois signed a contract extension with Missouri in April 2023 that saw her total compensation jump to $1.25 million annually. Her Missouri annual contract was broken down as $900,000 in base salary; $350,000 in non-salary compensation; and $250,000 in deferred compensation. She was only eligible to receive the deferred compensation at the end of her deal.
Veatch is Missouri’s fourth athletic director in the past nine years. The university also put in a clause that makes sure it isn’t searching for No. 5 any time soon.
The contract states that “the AD recognizes that their promise to work for the University for the entire term is important to the University, and that the nature of their position is unique.”
On that note, the contract also stipulates that should Veatch choose to terminate his deal without cause, he will pay the university 50% of his cumulative base salary plus whatever he would have been paid in non-salary compensation.
That means, if he leaves for another job with, for example, one year remaining on his deal, he would owe $450,000 (half of his base salary) plus $200,000 in non-salary compensation for a total of $650,000 in liquidated damages. The cost of leaving Missouri begins at about $3.25 million and falls each year for Missouri’s new AD.
On the flip side, and very similarly, if Missouri terminates Veatch’s contract without cause, the university owes Veatch half of his annual base salary plus the full amount he would have received in non-salary compensation. Veatch also would be paid whatever he had accrued in deferred compensation. That means his buyout begins at approximately $1.65 million, which will fall with each passing year.
What’s next for Veatch?
Veatch, who MU hired away after a near-five-year stint at Memphis, could be introduced to the public as soon as Friday. His official start date is May 1.
More: 3 questions facing new Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch on Day 1
The new head of the Missouri athletic department returns for a second stint in Columbia, after serving in various roles for MU in the late 1990s and early 2000s. At Missouri, Veatch held titles such as assistant AD for development; director of athletics development for major giving; and director of annual giving and development coordinator. He also worked for Learfield Sports, managing Mizzou Sports Properties between 2003-06.
Veatch is a former Kansas State linebacker and team captain under Hall of Fame head coach Bill Snyder. The new Missouri AD has worked in athletic departments at Memphis, Florida, Iowa State, Texas and his alma mater K-State.
The university formed an 11-person search committee and hired the search firm TurnKey ZRG to find its next AD.
Veatch will undertake a $250 million redevelopment to the Memorial Stadium north concourse, with the athletic department poised to foot half of that bill and a considerable chunk of those funds still needing to be raised.
The Missouri football team itself, however, appears to be in its most stable position in a decade. The Tigers went 11-2 last season, a year that culminated in a Cotton Bowl victory over Ohio State, before extending Drinkwitz through the 2028 season.
In Mizzou Arena, Gates and the men’s basketball team are coming off a historically poor season with a historically successful recruiting performance. The Tigers have one of the nation’s top transfer classes and will bring the country’s No. 4 high school class to Columbia this summer. Veatch likely will face questions about MU women’s basketball coach Robin Pingeton, who has entered the final year of her contract.
More: 5 things to know about new Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch
