Josh Brooks would love to be the man to replace the retiring Greg McGarity as the new athletic director at the University of Georgia.
During a Zoom session with reporters Tuesday morning, the 11-year veteran of the UGA Athletic Association spoke in depth about his upcoming role as Interim AD, what his plans would be, and how he's already different from McGarity, whose final day in Athens is set for Dec. 31.
Monday morning, an industry source told UGASports that Brooks is indeed the favorite to land the job, although an official interview has yet to take place.
“Hopefully, what I’ve done in my career has built up more than what you'd look at in just a couple of months. I’ve always tried to show that day in and day out. But if this is an audition, then so be it,” Brooks said. “I come to work the same every day and will treat today and Jan. 1 no different: show up, treat people the right way, and represent the University. One thing President (Jere) Morehead and Greg have taught me, is always keep the University at the forefront of any decision. With every decision we make, let's make sure it's in the best interest of the University.
“As long as I'm doing that—treating people the right away and putting the University first—everything else will take care of itself. Lord willing, I’ll let the chips fall where they may.”
During his tenure, Brooks has worked closely with McGarity and oversees internal and external for all athletic operations. He serves as the liaison with the Office of University Architects office on all athletic construction projects and with several campus departments as well as the president’s office. His responsibilities at UGA have included overseeing the departments of facility support, graphics and design, and turf management.
“When you think about all the facility enhancements we’ve made over the past 10 years—over $300,000,000 of enhancements—during that same time. we haven't drawn long-term debt. We’ve actually reduced it. If you think about it, we’re in as great a shape financially as any university in the country,” Brooks said.
Brooks has also been involved in the scheduling of future football games, as well as overseeing bowl game operations. In addition, his responsibilities included assisting with the development and management of facilities, new construction projects for the Athletic Association, and planning the 2013 Jason Aldean Concert in Sanford Stadium. Brooks has also served as the sports facilitator for football and men’s and women’s track and field and cross country.
The Louisiana native was asked if more concerts at Sanford Stadium might be in the future.
“I’m always looking at options for that,” he said. “This year would have been a great year for it, but in light of what all is going on, it would have been difficult.”
The subject of beer inside the stadium and other UGA venues is another topic of great interest to fans.
Brooks’ take:
“We want to be responsible about that and make sure that whatever we do, we go about it the right way, in a responsible way,” he said. “We’ll see; I think it’s more popular in the conference . We’re obviously learning what others have done and how it’s going.”
Of course, the success of Georgia’s 23 athletic programs is what’s paramount on his mind.
“I’m a competitor. I want to win in everything. If we started a badminton team tomorrow, I'd want to win a national championship in that,” he said. “It doesn’t matter the sport; they’re all important to me. When you're an AD, every one of those teams feels like your children, and you want them to be successful. Every win is great, every loss is terrible. The natural competitor in me wants us to win championships in everything we do.”
Brooks, 40, also made it clear that connecting with average fans is also an area he intends to continue pursuing.
Unlike McGarity, Brooks is quite active on social media, especially Twitter, where he routinely interacts with fans.
“For me, it’s a way for me to connect with the fans—the good, the bad and the ugly; to not put my head in the sand. And to let them know what’s going on,” he said. “Look, I don’t mind when someone calls me out on Twitter and says something. I'd rather know when they do. Oftentimes, I'll send them a direct message or my phone number and call them and talk through things.
“It gives me another opportunity to interact with our fans, to have a pulse. That's one thing I've been proud of from my time here: trying to be interactive and responsive with our fans and listen to them. That’s one of the key things for me.”
Brooks also made it clear that whatever route the University decides to go, he will support it.
“I would love the opportunity. It’s anyone’s dream to be a Power 5 AD, but beyond that, I love Athens, Georgia, I love working for President Morehead, and I love the people here,” he said. “At the end of the day, I'll serve this university however it sees fit. This University was here before me, and it will be here after me, I'm just here to carry the torch. But I love it here and would love to stay here the rest of my life.”
