University of Mississippi names Keith Carter as next Ole Miss athletic director

Nick Suss | Mississippi Clarion Ledger

OXFORD — Ole Miss has selected its next athletics director.

The university promoted interim athletics director Keith Carter to be the full-time AD, and Chancellor Glenn Boyce introduced Carter on Friday afternoon. Carter has filled the role in an interim capacity since May when former Ole Miss AD Ross Bjork left to take the same job at Texas A&M.

"I want to thank Chancellor Boyce for his trust in me to lead this great athletics program forward," Carter said in a statement. "In my time as a student athlete and an administrator, I have experienced championship heights at Ole Miss, and I will work to provide the leadership and resources necessary for our teams to compete at that level year in and year out."

A former All-America basketball player at Ole Miss, Carter has worked in the Rebels' athletics department since 2009. He has been the executive director of the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation since 2012 and took over as the deputy AD for resource and development acquisition in 2018.

In his time atop the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation, Carter has seen monetary commitments and donation nearly triple from $62 million to $182 million toward the Forward Together campaign. In 2016, the National Association of Athletic Development Directors named Carter the Fundraiser of the Year.

Prior to working at Ole Miss, Carter played professional basketball in Italy from 2001-08. He started for four seasons at Ole Miss, earning All-America honors as a senior in 1999 and first-team All-SEC honors in 1998 and 1999.

In his tenure as interim athletics director, Carter approved alcohol sales at on-campus sporting events. He also spearheaded the idea of having "party decks" installed in the student sections at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, but those decks were later eschewed for tents, which were ultimately removed before the end of the season.

"This search was committed to finding the right leader who possesses the integrity and character needed to lead Ole Miss Athletics, a strong and proven record of success and excellent management and interpersonal skills," Boyce said. "We were looking for someone who wants to be at Ole Miss, and who believes all of our programs can compete and win at every level. Keith Carter is absolutely the best person to lead Ole Miss Athletics to a new era of success."

Mike Glenn, the chair of the athletics director search committee, said in a statement that the committee voted unanimously to recommend Carter for the job. Glenn cited Carter's background in fundraising and administration plus his experience working inside Ole Miss' athletics department as key factor for why he was chosen.

Glenn said the committee selected from a pool of 30 candidates, most of whom were sitting Power 5 or Group of 5 athletics directors. Along with a national search firm, Glenn did screening interviews to determine fit and interest for the job to allow the committee to select which candidates it would interview face-to-face.

"When we started working with [the search firm], I asked them to do two things for us," Glenn explained. "First, you have to give us a deep and diverse pool of candidates. Secondarily, make sure the decision we make is based on the relative strengths and weaknesses of each individual candidate and is not influenced in any way by outside pressures.

"After we got through with our interviews we had our debate and we came to a unanimous decision very quickly that Keith Carter was the man for the job."

Carter replaces Bjork, who was Ole Miss' athletics director from March 21, 2012, through his departure.

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Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.