I'll make a small list...

My #1.... John Daniel - Deputy AD and COO at Cincinatti. Was the CFO at Cincinnati before moving into DAD. Oversees all department business operations, head of all NIL initiatives, student-athlete revenue-sharing opportunities and ticket office operations, in addition to managing the equipment department and the football program. Also leads the department in revenue generation strategy.

In 2024-25, Daniel was selected for the prestigious NCAA Pathway Program, a yearlong initiative designed to prepare senior-level athletics administrators to become athletics directors or conference commissioners.


Carey Hoyt - Deputy Director of Athletics at Ohio State. She leads Ohio State’s NIL initiatives. Head admin for football. Former NCAA Coach of the Year in Gymnastics. From Ohio.


D'Ann Keller - Deputy Director at Buffalo. She helps lead the searches for all coaches. Her bio is pretty impressive, and looks like she has a hand in damn near every random aspect in Buffalo athletics. Also announced she was selected for the 2025-26 Pathway Program.


Bryan Blair - Athletic Director - Toledo. Steal one from inside the conference. Obviously seen some strong athletic success under him. Youngest AD at the time of his hire in 2022. Named to the Sports Business Journal 40 Under 40 in 2024. He's likely working with a bigger budget at Toledo, but OU has recent success of putting AD's into the big time.


Joe Odoguardi - Associate AD at Ohio State. Current CFO of OSU athletics. He was also the CEO of the Columbus Convention Center. YSU + Dayton degrees. A little 'outside the box', He's probably pulling down a huge salary and this would be more of a financial move than anything, but he has experience in leadership roles, and would be an interesting tire to kick imo.


Amy Dean - Interim AD, Deputy Director at OU. She's been here for 20+ years. Likely the easy choice. Been around it all. Seen it. Done most of it. But like SBH mentioned, I'd like to see someone a little younger, new ideas, new ways to approach the new normal of college athletics. Take a big swing.

Lazy maybe, but I know one of the complaints I've heard from some posters on here is that we've hired too many outsiders (both at a high level and mid level employees in the AD) that have no idea what Athens or OU bring to the table (culture, atmosphere, campus life, etc.). Having someone who has been around for a long time could be a benefit if they were to hire the right people to go along with them.

That being said, I have no idea what Amy's qualifications are outside of being in Athens for 20+ years.

By all means let's hire the AD from Nelsonville York High School. Wouldn't want any "outsiders" with a broader field of vision.

Hiring Amy would not be like hiring the AD from NYHS. She's a very competent athletic administrator at the college level, and she brings a lot of intangibles to the position in terms of her knowledge of OHIO athletic history and culture. Just because she's been here for a long time, doesn't mean she doesn't have her own innovative ideas. She would not be a clone of those past AD's she's worked for; she's very much her own woman.

She's 63ish and a Miami grad. No and no.