Multiple sources tell us Bill Sutton, professor and director of the new USF Sport Management program, will be named chairman of the still-forming USF Athletic Director Search Committee.
Sutton is a triple graduate of Oklahoma State (bachelor's, masters, and doctorate), and has served at USF as the professor and founding director of the Sport & Entertainment Graduate Program in the College of Business since 2012. Prior to coming to USF, he spent eight years at C. Florida as a professor and associate department head at the Devos Sport Business Program. Prior stops in his nearly 30 year career include UMass-Amherst, Ohio State, and Robert Morris College.
Sutton also has served as a marketing consultant for the NBA during academic sabbaticals, and is currently President of Bill Sutton & Associates, a sports marketing firm with a diverse client base. He's also a member of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission Board, where fan favorite Rob Higgins currently serves as executive director.
As reported by the Tampa Bay Times' Joey Knight earlier, USF has already retained the firm of Eastman & Beaudine to aid in the search for the new athletic director for a fee of $100,000.