Laird Veatch
Laird Veatch was named the University of Missouri’s Director of Athletics, effective May 1, 2024. Veatch has served in the same role at the University of Memphis since October 2019.
Veatch, a former football student-athlete at Kansas State University, is a 25-year veteran of intercollegiate athletics with experience in the Big 12 and Southeastern Conference.
He returns to Mizzou at an exciting time in its history. The Tigers have had an impressive run of success in the last few years, both academically and athletically. In 2023, Mizzou football finished the season ranked No. 8 in both major polls while gymnastics and wrestling spent most of their seasons ranked among the Top 10 nationally.
At Memphis, Veatch oversaw multiple facility projects and renovations, including an indoor football facility, a new tennis center, an Olympic sports weight room and nutrition center. Veatch has also led Memphis’ innovative Name, Image and Likeness program, becoming one of the first schools to hire an NIL director, while collaborating with Altius Sports Partners to develop an Athlete Services Department.
In April 2024, Veatch’s forward-thinking NIL mindset was on display nationally, when Fortune 50 company FedEx announced a $25 million investment over the next five years to create an innovative NIL program benefiting Memphis student-athletes who will be promoting FedEx initiatives.
In 2021, Veatch unveiled Memphis’ strategic vision that aligned with the university’s comprehensive strategic plan and included an integrated academic program and athletics facilities master plan. The university also recently launched a $220 million renovation to revitalize and modernize Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium as the home of Memphis Football.
Veatch is a leader who is familiar to many in the Mizzou community. He spent five years at Mizzou from 1997-2002, the last three as assistant athletic director for development, where he oversaw the department’s fundraising activities with an emphasis on facility and capital fundraising projects. Veatch also served as general manager of Mizzou Sports Properties from 2003 to 2006 and as regional vice president for Learfield Sports in Missouri from 2006 to 2010. At Mizzou, Veatch managed the Tiger Scholarship Fund annual giving program and directed the department’s comprehensive capital campaign.
Veatch also has served in athletics administrative positions at the University of Texas (1995-97), Iowa State University (2002-03), Kansas State University (2010-2017) and the University of Florida (2017-19).
In 2010, Veatch returned to his alma mater and held several positions in Kansas State’s athletics administration, most recently as deputy athletic director and chief of staff (2016-17). Veatch’s first experience in the SEC came at Florida, where he served as executive associate athletic director for internal affairs from 2017 to 2019.
Veatch began his professional career in 1995 at the University of Texas, assisting with the development program as well as the external affairs area as a graduate assistant while earning his master’s degree in sports administration in 1997.
Veatch received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Kansas State in 1995 where he was a four-year letterman at linebacker for College Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder from 1990-94 and served as team captain as a senior. He was a starter on K-State’s Copper and Aloha Bowl teams in 1993 and 1994 and earned honorable mention All-Big Eight Conference honors in 1994.
He was also a two-time CFA Academic All-American, was Academic All-Big Eight four times and was a Hitachi/CFA Scholar-Athlete in 1994.
Veatch and his wife, Brandy, have three daughters, Jordyn, Taylor and Sydney, and one son, Dru.
