New athletic director Josh Brooks addressed many subjects during his introductory press conference with Georgia president Jere Morehead.

One of those was the fact that he clearly wants to hear what fans and supporters have to say.

“I’ve always been one to be open and listen. I don’t shy away from criticism. I want to find ways for us to get better. Every single day, every year, I want to find ways for the University of Georgia athletic department to get better,” Brook said. “We can never settle; we can never rest on our laurels. We want to continuously get better.”

That apparently includes not being afraid to try new and different things to make that happen.

“One of the things I want to bring to the forefront is innovation. I want to use that word carefully, because I always will respect the tradition at the University of Georgia. But I want to bring in innovative minds that bring in a growth mindset. We never settle for the status quo,” he said. “Lastly, I want to say this: Every decision I make, I will always put the interest of the university at the forefront—every initiative and everything we do.”

That won’t be all.

Brooks added that he will address any concerns that fans may have.

“If we are getting a lot of emails about a certain topic; we need to look into it. We can’t just bury our heads in the sand and think things are always going perfectly. I want to know what's going wrong,” Brooks said. “I want to know what we can improve on, even if it’s not something that’s going wrong, but just something that can get better.”

One of the areas Brooks says needs to improve is fan experience.

Although attendance is currently restricted due to Covid, once we're able to move on, finding ways to help fans have an even more enjoyable experience will be among the top items on his agenda.

“We have to step it up in terms of fan experience, and how we're going to treat them, and the show we put on for them where we make sure this live experience is so much better than that home experience that they have to be here in person,” Brook said. “That’s where it’s important for me to keep getting better and listening. I don’t shy away from criticism. I think that’s how you get better: listening and learning.”

Wednesday’s vote by the UGA Athletic Association executive committee came less than a week after Brooks began serving as interim AD on Jan. 1.

According to Morehead, the school looked at a number of candidates, including some potential ones who reached out—but only after getting assurance that their names would not be revealed.

Ultimately, Morehead said the decision came down to Brooks and another candidate before the ultimate selection of Brooks.

“I had extensive discussions with those candidates. You’re obviously aware of who one of them was (Josh), and I agreed with the committee,” Morehead said. “It wasn’t an easy choice, but I feel very good about the choice, because I think Josh brings a level of energy, commitment, and a desire to be even better than what we are today.”

Brooks said he already has some ideas that he hopes to implement during his first 100 days as the school’s permanent AD.

Although the ongoing Covid pandemic will dictate what some of that may entail, some plans are already underway.

“We’ve really got to be judicious about what we choose to attack early on, but I think there are some low-hanging fruit and some things we can attack early on that can make a difference,” Brooks said. “I feel pretty good, and having 10-plus years of experience here, I feel like I know what some of the issues are. I’ve been the one, honestly, that’s done a lot of the responding to some of the fans when there’ve been issues, so I feel like that’s given me a pulse to what some of the hot button issues are and some of the things we can work on and improve.

“Again, I never shy away from criticism, so I welcome those emails (and) welcome those phone calls, because it only helps us get better. That has helped shape what I think we need to attack in that 30, 60, 90-day plan.”