Rethinking How Athletic Directors are Studied, Prepared, and Hired

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Fresno State AD Garrett Klassy

Garrett Klassy has been the AD at Fresno State for almost 2 years and is leading the Bulldogs into the Pac-12 this summer. Expect to hear a lot in this interview, beginning with the evolving profile of the FBS AD position. I asked Garrett if he thinks FBS ADs will always be the key decision-maker for head coaching hires throughout the department or if that will maybe fall off to a deputy AD in the future as the job becomes less day-to-day involvement and more of a big picture role. Klassy is also one of several former ADs that left the chair for a P4 deputy AD job that eventually launched him back into the AD chair at a different level. Has this trend become the norm? He then talks about the relaunch of the Pac-12 and why it makes sense for Fresno State. The conversation ends with some advice for those that may feel like they came up in one area of college athletics and feel typecasted and want to still progress towards the AD job.

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