Arizona State’s Graham Rossini on GMs in college sports: ‘I think there’s merit to the concept’
Sep 21, 2024, 9:45 AM
More and more college athletic departments around the country are hiring general managers to get ahead in this new world of NIL, the active transfer portal that mimics free agency and managing budgets. Former ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski leaving the media business for a GM job with St. Bonaventure basketball further highlighted the growing field this week.
Arizona State’s first-year athletic director Graham Rossini told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Thursday that there is merit to the concept.
“We’re studying a lot of scenarios across many of our sports because right now, you think about the life of a college coach in any sport, you’ve got to wake up in the morning and determine whether you are putting your energy into coaching the team you have or recruiting the team that you need,” Rossini said.
“We know coaches, they work around the clock, but there are only 24 hours in a day. As the access to talent and access to information becomes more and more important, I do think you’ll start to see more of a specialization into scouting and roster management, as opposed to coaching and player development. And that’s obviously a very tried-and-true model in professional sports.”
College programs are starting to turn to general managers. ASU AD Graham Rossini shares his thoughts on the development with @BurnsAndGambo: pic.twitter.com/ws6mlwhGj3
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) September 20, 2024
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Rossini returned to his alma mater Arizona State earlier this year after spending 13 years working in professional sports for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and former ASU athletic director Ray Anderson cited the changing collegiate athletics landscape and NIL as prime reasons for his departure amid investigations of recruiting violations.
Versions of a pro football-like system have been in effect for college football programs for decades, and basketball is now catching up. Duke got the ball rolling by hiring the first college hoops general manager, Rachel Baker, in 2022. Other programs followed suit.
The University of Arizona hired Gaizka Crowley to be its new football general manager and Matt King as its president of basketball operations earlier this year.
Alabama made waves this past offseason by awarding general manager Courtney Morgan with a three-year contract worth nearly $2.5 million, a potential market-setting investment.
“I think as there’s just more at stake in college sports, now more than ever, there is some merit to having a group of your sports staff that can really be focused on future roster composition while the current coaches are developing the talent that needs to win now,” Rossini said.
