Who Should Be The Next WSU AD? Six Names Betsy Cantwell Should Call



WSU fired Anne McCoy on November 12th, in a move that was surprising to most Cougs. The move signals that WSU president Betsey Cantwell was not happy with the direction that the athletic department was heading. Cantwell has been vocal about the fundraising issues that have hurt the athletic department and it is widely believed that she will look for someone with proven fundraising chops. In this article I provide six names that I think WSU and Cantwell should talk to about the job. 


Don Miller (CEO GESA Credit Union)


An outside the box idea, Don Miller the current CEO of GESA Credit Union is a graduate of WSU and has been the CEO of GESA Credit Union since 2013. He has worked for GESA for his entire career and has helped grow GESA into one of the biggest credit unions in the United States. 


While he has worked for GESA his entire career and has no experience in any athletic department, his ability to help grow GESA has been impressive and a businessman may be just what WSU needs. He has unlimited connections in the business community in the state of Washington and he could be a dynamic fundraiser. WSU currently enjoys a great business relationship with GESA Credit Union. 


Sara Mosiman (Global Sports & Events Partner)


Sara is a rising star in the Pacific Northwest sports scene. She has no real WSU ties, in fact she mostly has UW ties as she played basketball there and worked at UW in the Sports Institute at UW Medicine. She is currently a partner at Global Sports and Events where they specialize in high impact sporting events with a focus on event operations. The company has experience working with lots of different NCAA teams and events. 


Sara also has business development experience and operations experiences which would be important skills for the AD role. Sara would certainly be an outside the box hire but her experience in managing events could be extremely valuable as WSU has been trying to improve the gameday atmosphere. Her experience in business development could make her a formidable fundraiser, which is probably the biggest competency Cantwell is looking for. 



Diana Sabau (Maryland Senior Deputy Athletic Director)


Diana Sabau and Betsy Cantwell have a relationship from their (short) time together at Utah State. While I am not fully convinced that Diana would leave Maryland and take the WSU job, I definitely think that she and Cantwell will have a discussion about the job. 


Sabau was crucial in helping guide Utah State into the Pac12 as some reporting suggests it was not a guarantee and Utah State was initially offered a half share from the Pac12. She helped increase athletic donations considerably at Utah State, and as we know Cantwell is looking for a strong fundraiser. 


Bryan Blair (Toledo AD)


Bryan Blair is a name that has been mentioned by a lot of people for several reasons. He has ties to WSU as he was the Deputy Athletic Director at WSU from 2018 to 2022 under Pat Chun during some of the most successful years of WSU athletics fundraising. Blair has also found a fair amount of success in his time at Toledo with the football, men's basketball and women's basketball programs all winning conference championships. 


Blair might be the best and most realistic candidate. He still seems to love WSU and he has a lot of connections within the WSU community. He knows what successful fundraising can look like at WSU. If Cantwell does decide to go with someone with WSU ties I think Blair might be the top candidate, however I think it is very possible Cantwell wants to bring in someone with no previous WSU ties. 


Fernando Lovo (New Mexico AD) 


Fernando Lovo has only been the athletic director at New Mexico since December of 2024 but the athletic department has begun to make significant strides specifically in football. He nailed his first big hire, hiring Jason Eck to lead the football program. In his time at Texas he helped oversee some massive capital projects. 


In his short time as AD at New Mexico they have had a record year in revenue and football ticket sales have improved. Would he jump from New Mexico after just a year to come to Pullman, maybe but I am not fully convinced. I still think he is an interesting candidate and WSU should reach out for a conversation. 


Jeremiah Dickey (Boise State AD)



This one is incredibly unrealistic, but Jeremiah is probably my favorite AD in the country. He has done magical things at Boise State completing fundraising for massive capital projects for the football stadium, increasing ticket sales for football and basketball. He was also named the 2025 NACDA AD of the year. I do not think there is really any chance that he would leave Boise State to come to WSU but even if there was a .01% chance Betsy Cantwell needs to make the call. 


What are your thoughts on the open WSU AD position? Would you like to see WSU go after one of these candidates? If not, who is your top candidate that you think WSU should pursue?


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