For the first time in its history, the University of Memphis has an African American leading it’s sports program.
On June 26, The University of Memphis announced the appointment of Dr. Ed Scott as the new Athletic Director. Scott has served as Deputy Athletics Director at the University of Virginia since January 2022 and comes to Memphis with previous athletics director experience at Morgan State University. A press conference is set for Friday, June 28.
“The University of Memphis is a destination for me, and it has been on my radar for some time,” Scott said in a statement. “With exceptional student-athletes, coaches and staff that have the backing of a proud and motivated city, the opportunity is here to accomplish great things as we continue forward in a new era of intercollegiate athletics.
“I want to thank President Hardgrave for giving me this opportunity. My family and I are excited to join Tiger Nation,” he said.
Scott will try to build on the success of his predecessor Laird Veatch, now the AD at the University of Missouri. He will have shiny toys to play with, as the Simmons Bank Liberty Bowl stadium is being renovated, as well as the NIL program FedEx recently announced to support the university.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Scott and his family to Memphis,” said UofM President Bill Hardgrave said in a statement. “Our goal in this extensive search was to find a forward-thinking, transformative leader with the vision to help us achieve the full potential of Tiger Athletics.
“While there were many exceptional candidates, we found that leader in Dr. Scott,” Hardgrave continued. “We are fortunate to have him join the Tiger Family, and we look forward to continuing toward our promising future in athletics under his guidance.”
Before Virginia, Scott was Vice President and Director of Athletics at Morgan State from October 2016. Earlier in his career at Morgan State, Scott was the first athletics director to serve on the President’s Cabinet. He also launched the department’s first annual fund (Morgan Bear Club) and negotiated Morgan State’s first-ever comprehensive apparel deal with Under Armour®. Several Morgan State facilities were improved or renovated under Scott’s leadership, totaling approximately $25 million of improvements to athletic and recreational facilities over his five years.
A standout baseball student-athlete at Albany, Scott earned CoSIDA Academic All-American status, was named America East Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year and received America East First Team All-Conference honors as a centerfielder. In addition to earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Albany, Scott has a PhD from Binghamton University’s School of Community and Public Affairs. He and his wife, Tara, have a daughter, Tia.
