New Memphis athletic director Ed Scott: Three things to know
Memphis officially has its new athletic director: Ed Scott.
Scott, formerly the deputy athletic director at Virginia, is university president Bill Hardgrave's choice to replace Laird Veatch, who left for the athletic director job at Missouri.
After a two-month search period, Hardgrave and other university officials picked Scott.
Memphis recently broke ground on a $220 million renovation project to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, and the Tigers have also been trying to position themselves to jump into a different athletic conference for years. Scott comes from Virginia, which plays in the ACC. That's one of the conferences Memphis could be interested in trying to join.
He'll no doubt be expected to hit the ground running when he sets foot in the Bluff City. Here are three things to know about Memphis' new athletic director.
Ed Scott has experience as an athletic director
While he's been at Virginia as deputy athletic director since 2022, Scott has experience running an athletic department. He spent five years as athletic director at Morgan State and earned national recognition for his work at the helm of the Bears' programs.
He was honored as a 2021-22 Cushman & Wakefield Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
His work at Morgan State included securing a $2.7 million donation to reinstate the Bears' wrestling program. That fundraising experience will be critical at Memphis, which needs to raise about $27 million to fully fund the renovations to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
Scott also helped launch the first annual fund for the athletic department at Morgan State.
Ed Scott was a college baseball player
A center fielder, Scott was a standout for the Albany baseball team and earned multiple conference and national honors during his time with the Great Danes. He later played independent league baseball and coached summer league baseball.
In 2002, he hit .339 with 27 RBIs at Albany.
Ed Scott has a PhD and plenty of experience in college athletics
Scott has also worked at Louisville, Binghamton and George Washington, using that experience to earn the athletic director job at Morgan State. He earned his PhD from Binghamton in 2019 and has master's and bachelor's degrees from Albany.
He's also adjunct faculty member at the University of Washington, where he teaches a course in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership. He also authored a book chapter called "The Black male student-athlete experience; Past, present and future."
He also had oversight of several programs in the Virginia athletic department, including serving as a special advisor to Cavaliers football coach Tony Elliott.
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis athletic director Ed Scott: Three things to know about new AD
