Two years into her tenure as Arizona’s athletic director, Desireé Reed-Francois can tick off a long list of accomplishments.
She’d rather focus on what she calls “the student-athlete experience.”
Yes, Reed-Francois and her team are on the verge of wiping out the $39 million department deficit she inherited. They’ve secured naming-rights deals for Arizona Stadium (now Casino Del Sol Stadium) and McKale Center (now McKale Center at Alkeme Arena) totaling $87.7 million. They’ve launched Arizona Sports Enterprises to better position themselves in the media and sponsorship spaces.
But as Reed-Francois often points out, all those business initiatives have an underlying purpose: Providing Arizona’s coaches with the support they need to “do what they do best” and its student-athletes the resources they need to “achieve their hopes and their dreams.”
Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois, right, listens to cross-country runner Laina Friedmann during a regular lunch with student-athletes at the Sands Club in Tucson, Feb. 4, 2026.
UA athletes posted a cumulative GPA of 3.41 during the fall semester — the highest in school history. The department also boasted its highest graduate success rate, and, per an internal survey, 92% of its fall graduates either had jobs lined up or were enrolling in grad school. Per another department survey, 90% of student-athletes said they would choose to attend Arizona again.
“Those numbers matter,” Reed-Francois said. “When student-athletes feel valued and supported and connected, they perform at a higher level. Winning and belonging are not separate; they reinforce each other. And the most connected team wins.”
Reed-Francois says she can sense that in the Arizona men’s basketball team, which is ranked second in the country and just secured its first Big 12 regular-season title.
She can see it in individual standouts such as track-and-field captain Hollan Powers, who’s an elite pentathlete and heptathlete; graduated with a degree in architecture (sustainable built environments) with a 4.0 GPA; is working on her master’s at the Eller College of Management; and has organized an Alzheimer's walk in honor of her late father.
Arizona's Hollan Powers finished second in the pentathlon during the 2025 Big 12 Indoor Championships in Lubbock, Texas, Feb. 28, 2025.
“Hollan competes at the highest levels,” Reed-Francois said. “But she's just an incredible person, an incredible human, an incredible leader.”
Reed-Francois can see it in men’s tennis star Jay Friend, who’s not only the third-ranked player in the country but a willing volunteer who regularly performs community service and participates in department caravans.
“He's the first person to raise his hand,” Reed-Francois said. “That's the standard we want here at the University of Arizona. We want excellence with heart.”
The athletic department still faces challenges as it navigates the rapidly changing world of college sports. Arizona’s football attendance in 2025 lagged behind many of its Big 12 peers. The game-day experience remains a work in progress. Women’s basketball is just starting a rebuild.
Those were some of the topics Reed-Francois discussed with the Star during a phone interview this week. Highlights of that conversation can be found below. It has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
How would you summarize your first two years at Arizona?
A: “My first responsibility was to stabilize the athletic department and build our team around that. Second, we had to do a deep dive and assess where we were, where we were going (and) where are the opportunities for growth? Where were the strengths? Maximize the strengths and shore up the opportunities for growth. And then that leads into momentum. We have good momentum, and we need to continue to enhance our momentum and keep that going.”
In your job, there's always something lurking around the corner — some new challenge that arises. What’s the biggest problem that remains unresolved?
A: “We're in a transformative time in college sports history — one of the top five most transformative times. This is a rapidly changing environment. So what comes next? We have to be able to act, to be nimble and to be flexible — but be aligned with our core values. So we're getting prepared for that next iteration of NIL, we’re getting prepared for monetizing our jerseys through a patch. We're ... continuing to enhance Arizona Sports Enterprises. All of those are opportunities for us so that we can continue providing those championship resources."
What sports will have patches, how much money will they generate and when will we start seeing those?
A: “Aug. 1 the legislation goes into effect. We have hired an outside company to do a valuation of the patch, the worth of the patch. We have several different packages we're exploring. But all sports will have that opportunity.”
How would you assess football attendance this past season?
A: “We had two rain (delays). Doing our planning, I can say that we didn't anticipate two rain (delays) in Tucson. That was definitely unique.
“We are continuing to look to enhance our fan experience and our fan opportunities, and we're going to keep doing that. We were very pleased with our students. Our student support for football has been incredible. They bring this energy and enthusiasm that cannot be replicated anywhere.
“We added new premium seating on the sidelines, and we're going to keep doing that. We want our fans to, each year, see that we're making improvements. We send out thousands of surveys, and every Monday, we review a summary of those surveys and try to make enhancements in-season. And then we plan for what's longer term.
Hundreds of celebrating fans congregating in the northeast corner of the upper bowl are joined by hundreds more streaming up the aisles during the fourth quarter of Arizona’s game against Baylor, Nov. 22, 2025, in Tucson.
“Very pleased to see that our football fan satisfaction was up this year. I believe 89% of those fans that attended would recommend coming to a game. So we're going to keep enhancing the fan experience this year. We just announced that we're going to add new sound, new video boards and new lights. Those were (among) the top fan requests. So we're hearing our fans, and we're continuing to make adjustments.”
Many of us in the media expressed disappointment in the turnouts for football. Some fans pushed back at that notion, citing cost and other circumstances. Were we off base?
A: “We're creating a fun environment, and we want people to come. Arizona is a special place. So I am more forward looking. Let's keep enhancing this fan experience. Let's keep making it the place to be. So that when you have a choice between sitting at home and watching it on your big screen in your air-conditioned house, you're like, ‘No way. I do not want to miss out on that fun environment around Arizona football.’”
Which game-day change or enhancement worked the best in your opinion?
A: “Tony Daniel (senior associate athletic director, revenue generation & engagement) and Carson Luttenegger (director, marketing & fan engagement) went through every single line of the script and tried to de-commercialize (it) as much as is reasonable. Really tried to integrate music and the students, the fan cams. They (added) fan-friendly pricing at concessions.
“One thing I loved was something that was just organic. When you look up and you see those students in the upper deck, and they're taking off their shirts and waving them, it was just fun. They even did it in the rain, and I just thought, 'That's what college sports is about.' It's about bringing people together in community, having fun, and we're just enjoying the moment together.”
What’s on your wish list for future changes at the stadium beyond what you recently announced?
A: “Chairbacks. The ‘Knothole Club.’ I'd like some version of the ‘Knothole Club.’ And then concessions. I really want to create a true food-truck alley on that west side. Tucson is a foodie’s paradise. I'd like to continue to enhance our food offerings so that we could provide something that's really unique to Tucson.”
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd, left, celebrates with guard Anthony Dell'Orso, right, and the rest of the team after defeating Iowa State and earning the Big 12 title Monday, March 2, 2026, in Tucson.
What impresses you most about the way Tommy Lloyd runs his program?
A: “Tommy is an exceptional coach; that goes without saying. We're No. 2 in the country. He's in the top 15 for the Naismith Coach of the Year. His results, they speak for themselves.
“One thing I really appreciate about him is the student-athletes that he recruits and the culture that he builds within that basketball program. I say that not only from the chair that I sit in as the athletic director, but also ... as a mother of a student-athlete. His student-athletes feel valued, they feel cared about, and they feel connected. And it is showing on the court.”
As amazing as this season has been, Tommy ultimately will be judged on how the team does in the NCAA Tournament. Is that fair?
A: “We look at the whole body of his work. He's an exceptional coach, and we're really proud of the direction that he has his basketball program headed.”
Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois gives women's basketball coach Becky Burke a hug after the Wildcats edged Houston, 75-67, Feb. 24, 2026, at McKale Center.
How do you assess Becky Burke’s first season with women’s basketball and where she's got the program pointed?
A: “When we hired her, I remember someone calling her ‘Becky the Builder.’ And I thought, 'That's exactly what she’s going to need to do.' She had one (player), no staff and ... in a very challenging league, she has done exactly what she said she would do.
“She's recruiting young ladies of high character who are working really hard, and her team is a reflection of her. They hustle, they outwork everyone, and she is getting the most out of those student-athletes. I'm looking forward to her having a full recruiting season under her belt, and I expect that we're going to continue to build on the foundation that she's established. Her teams ... they're going to hustle, they're going to be hungry and they're going to be humble competitors.”
Softball has an incredible tradition here, having won multiple national championships. But as you’ve mentioned, the world has changed. Programs can literally buy success. Can UA softball be what it was, or do we need to adjust our expectations?
A: “We're No. 14 in the country right now. This is a storied softball program and tradition. We have high expectations for our softball program, and we're going to keep providing the resources for Coach (Caitlin) Lowe to be able to compete for championships.
“She is an alum of this program. I know that's her expectation. So no — we have really high expectations. And I know Coach Lowe shares those same goals.”
