There were a couple of interesting items emanating from a Tuesday morning Zoom call with outgoing UGA athletic director Greg McGarity and Georgia president Jere Morehead.
First, Morehead revealed that he hopes to move “expeditiously” in finding a replacement for McGarity, whose last day will be Dec. 31.
Also, McGarity revealed that his original intention was to retire at the end of the previous fiscal year, but with the arrival of Covid, relented to a request from Morehead to stay a bit longer.
“We were ready to do things earlier, but Covid came along and we just knew that wasn’t the right time to go through any change,” McGarity said. “The President had enough on his plate to navigate everything he had to navigate, and I certainly didn’t want to add to that.”
McGarity, who recently sold his house, will join Sheryl McGarity, his wife of 42 years, at their new home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. at the end of the month.
The soon-to-be-former Bulldog AD said he currently has no plans for future working endeavors but did not rule out any opportunities.
As for what is next as far as finding a new AD, Morehead said that plans are in place to get that ball rolling.
On Monday, Morehead announced the formation of an 11-person advisory committee and Tuesday revealed that Michael Luthi, the director of UGA’s search group who handles filling university executive positions, will be responsible for handling the search.
Morehead said he has yet to speak, either directly or indirectly, with any potential candidates.
“I haven’t spoken directly with any potential candidates. I am sure as this process unfolds that will happen. There are a number of channels where that will be possible to take place,” Morehead said. “I obviously have a lot of contacts serving in the leadership role, working with the SEC and Commissioner (Greg) Sankey, but also on the NCAA level with the NCAA Board of Governors, so I will use those contacts as needed to ensure those channels remain open. We’ll just see how the process plays out.”
Although there is no timeline, Morehead wants to process to move as quickly as it can.
“I haven’t established a firm timeline, but I obviously want this to move along expeditiously,” he said. “I don’t want this to drag out for months and months and months into the future. But we need to have a sufficient enough timeline to make sure the advisory committee is able to advise me on significant candidates who have an interest in the job.”
Although there's no official list of candidates, UGA Senior Deputy Athletic Director Josh Brook certainly has an interest in the job.
Brooks was tabbed to be the Interim AD come January 1st, with current Deputy of Athletics Darrice Griffin stepping up to serve as the Senior Deputy of Athletics.
“It’s definitely not awkward, because the most important thing is to provide stability within the senior leadership in athletics,” Morehead said. “One of the great things we have right now is a really strong leadership team. By installing both Josh and Darrice into the two senior leadership positions on an interim basis, I wanted to send a strong signal to the entire athletic organization that we are strong, that we are stable, and we have confidence in the people that Greg has put into senior leadership positions.”
During his time as Athletic Director at UGA, McGarity has led numerous facility expansion and renovation projects—ranging from the William Porter Payne and Porter Otis Payne Indoor Athletic Facility and the Sanford Stadium West End Zone project to major renovations at Foley Field, Stegeman Coliseum, Henry Field Tennis Stadium, Turner Soccer Complex, Boyd Golf Center, and the Equestrian Complex. A major $80 million expansion of Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall is now underway with expected completion in Spring 2021.
In addition, under McGarity’s leadership athletics fundraising has reached unprecedented heights. During the 2019 fiscal year, the Georgia Bulldog Club raised a record $64.9 million in gifts and pledges to support UGA athletics.
McGarity launched a new philanthropic initiative in 2015, called the Magill Society, which currently includes more than 1,255 members who have contributed over $153 million to support athletic facility projects. McGarity has grown the scholarship endowment to more than $40 million and raised funds to endow five coaching and administrative positions.
“Ten years is a long time for any athletic director to be in one place at one time. I appreciate the opportunity to serve, and it's been a great ride. I've enjoyed working with almost everyone on this call, for the Hollywood squares here,” McGarity said. “But hopefully you’ll recognize the job our student-athletes and coaches have done. I've just tried to lead, stay out of the way, and let our coaches excel as well as our student-athletes.”
