Mississippi State has hired an executive search firm in hopes of finding its next athletic director, the school announced Friday morning.
President Mark Keenum will follow protocol from his prior two athletic director searches at MSU and will move quickly “to find the right individual with the right skill set and the right temperament our Bulldog family expects and deserves at Mississippi State,” per a news release.
John Cohen served as the Bulldogs’ athletic director from November 2016 until Monday, when he officially departed MSU to take the same position at Auburn.
Keenum thanked Cohen for his six years leading Mississippi State’s athletic department.
“Together as the Bulldog family, we will move purposefully to find a new leader who can both embrace and continue to build on MSU’s culture of success,” he said.
Wake Forest athletic director John Currie, Georgia Southern athletic director Jared Benko and Mississippi State chief financial officer Eric George are thought to be potential candidates to replace Cohen.
Keenum outlined what he’s looking for in the Bulldogs’ next AD.
“The landscape of college athletics has changed dramatically in recent years and brings new challenges and opportunities,” he said. “Our next director of athletics needs to be experienced and nimble in navigating those changes but also committed to doing things the right way and in keeping with the rules. Compliance, good sportsmanship and seeing our student-athletes leave this institution with an earned degree remain our abiding commitments.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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