7 potential candidates for Auburn’s next AD

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7 potential candidates for Auburn’s next athletics director

Updated: Aug. 26, 2022, 3:29 p.m.|Published: Aug. 26, 2022, 3:27 p.m.

7-9 minutes

Allen Greene’s tenure at Auburn has come to an end. The embattled athletics director announced Friday he will be stepping down from his role effective Aug. 31, informing Auburn president Dr. Chris Roberts of his decision this week.

Greene’s decision to step down to pursue other interests comes 4 1/2 years into his initial five-year contract with the university. Hired in January 2018, Greene’s contract was set to expire in five months, and despite early conversations about his future with Roberts this summer, the school’s new president did not express plans to extend Greene’s contract.

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Now Auburn is in search of its next athletics director to lead the program. Auburn athletics chief operating officer Marcy Girton is serving as the department’s acting athletics director until an interim is named. The interim will stand in until Roberts and Auburn leadership can conduct a national search to identify a permanent replacement for Greene.

Auburn’s next athletics director will be its 16th all-time. While the search is just getting underway, AL.com has reached out to various sources to help identify seven potential candidates to keep an eye on for the job. Here’s a look at each candidate, with a brief rundown of their resumes:

Rich McGlynn, Auburn executive associate athletics director, compliance

McGlynn is one of two internal names to keep an eye on as Auburn moves on from Greene. He has worked inside Auburn’s athletics department since 2006, joining the university after spending five years working at the NCAA. During his time at Auburn, McGlynn has overseen the compliance department, and he played an integral role in guiding Bruce Pearl and the men’s basketball program through the NCAA investigation stemming from the 2017 FBI investigation that ensnared former assistant coach Chuck Person. McGlynn is well-liked by Pearl, and he has the backing of some of the university’s most influential boosters.

Tim Jackson, Auburn executive associate athletics director, development

Another in-house name to keep in mind is Jackson, who has been with the university since 1988, starting out as a graduate assistant under Pat Dye for two years before becoming assistant strength and conditioning coach in 1990 and being promoted to Auburn’s conditioning coach the following year. Jackson went on to work as Auburn’s director of athletics ticket sales from 1992-2004. In his current role, he oversees Tigers Unlimited, the fundraising arm of Auburn’s athletics department.

John Hartwell, Utah State athletics director

A native of Mobile, Hartwell has been Utah State’s athletics director for the last seven-plus years, taking over that position in June 2015 after spending the prior three years as the athletics director at Troy. He was interested in the job at Auburn the last time it was open, before the Tigers ultimately hired Greene.

While at Utah State, Hartwell rebranded the athletics department’s fundraising arm, creating Aggies Unlimited to help put all donations to the program under one umbrella. Prior to that, during his tenure at Troy, Hartwell led efforts to upgrade multiple athletics facilities and unveiled a $25 million North end zone project for the Trojans’ football stadium. He also hired Neal Brown, who is now at West Virginia, and negotiated an apparel deal with Adidas. Along with his experience as an AD, Hartwell also boasts nine years of experience in the SEC, previously serving as the No. 2 athletics administrator at Ole Miss from 2003-12.

Mark Ingram, UAB athletics director

Ingram has served as UAB’s athletics director since May 2015, and during his tenure he helped lead the resurrection of the Blazers’ football program after it was shut down in late 2014. He also helped secure the approval of Protective Stadium, the new stadium in downtown Birmingham that opened last year and which UAB calls home, as well as the program’s recently opened football practice facility. Since he has been at UAB, the program has also enjoyed record-setting fundraising, with more than $100 million in cash and pledged donations to the athletics department. Ingram also has SEC experience on his resume, spending five years as senior associate athletics director at Tennessee, his alma mater. With the Vols, Ingram was responsible for the planning and strategy of a capital campaign that raised $336 million during his tenure.

Randy Campbell, Campbell Wealth Management

A former Auburn quarterback who led the Tigers to the 1983 SEC title, Campbell returned to his alma mater in 1992 as Auburn’s quarterbacks coach during Pat Dye’s final season, coaching both Stan White and Pat Nix that year. After getting out of coaching, Campbell began a career in life insurance and wealth management. He established his company, Campbell Wealth Management, and is currently based in Birmingham. Campbell has remained close to his alma mater, working hand in hand with Auburn in fundraising efforts, serving as Birmingham co-chair during the university’s most recent capital campaign. He has also helped raise millions of dollars for the university through its charitable planned giving program.

Michelle McKenna, founder and CEO of The Michelle McKenna Collaborative

A native of Enterprise, McKenna is an Auburn graduate and an established executive with more than two decades of experience as a senior leader at Disney, Universal and, most recently, the NFL. She served as the NFL’s chief information officer for a decade, leading the league’s digital and technology strategy. Among her many accomplishments in that role, she helped the NFL produce its completely virtual draft in 2020 amid the pandemic. She currently serves as CEO of The Michelle McKenna Collaborative, an advisory company she launched in April. McKenna was in consideration for Auburn’s AD opening back in 2017 before ultimately withdrawing from the search process. A source indicated to AL.com that McKenna is interested in the role this time around as well.

David Benedict, UConn athletics director

Another familiar name for Auburn is Benedict, the current athletics director at UConn, where he has served since March 2016. Prior to his time in Storrs, Conn., Benedict was the chief operating officer at Auburn (his replacement on the Plains, Marcy Girton, is now acting AD until an interim is named). He was previously a candidate for Auburn’s AD opening in 2017 before agreeing to a restructured contract at UConn. While with the Huskies, Benedict helped finalize and orchestrate UConn’s move to the Big East, as well as the “bold” decision to have the university’s football team play as an FBS independent.

During his time at Auburn, Benedict oversaw the day-to-day operations of the athletics department, and he was responsible for developing long-term plans for the departmental budget, facilities, staffing and strategic goals. He was also key in negotiating the school’s nine-year contract extension with Under Armour as the official apparel brand of the Tigers. He also served as a men’s basketball sport administrator and helped support football administrative staff.

Tom Green and Nubyjas Wilborn are Auburn beat reporters for Alabama Media Group. John Talty is the senior sports editor and SEC Insider for Alabama Media Group. You can follow them on Twitter @Tomas_Verde, @nwilborn19 and @jtalty.

[AUwent 3,833]

Dream would be McKenna. I could take Randy Campbell.

Edited August 31, 2022 by AUwent