SMU hires Maryland AD Damon Evans for the same role with the ACC school in Dallas
DALLAS (AP) — SMU has hired Maryland athletic director Damon Evans for the same role with the Mustangs as the school nears the end of its first year as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The hiring of Evans was announced by SMU on Friday night, six weeks after Rick Hart said he was stepping down after 13 years as AD.
Evans was previously the Georgia AD from 2004-10, then went to Maryland in 2014 as an associate AD before taking over the top job in 2018.
“While it is never easy to leave an institution that has become part of your family, the opportunity to come to SMU was too great to pass up,” Evans said. “SMU has tremendous momentum in all aspects of its athletics program, but I believe we can push to even greater heights.”
SMU, a private school near downtown Dallas, has invested more than $250 million in athletic facilities since 2013, including renovating and updating Moody Coliseum, its basketball arena, and an end-zone complex that opened this past football season.
The Mustangs made the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff in their first ACC season. The school also hired Andy Enfield last year as its new men’s basketball coach after his previous stints at Southern California and Florida Gulf Coast, and the Mustangs (24-10) are in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.
Hart’s departure comes at the same time that R. Gerald Turner is stepping down after 30 years as president of SMU. Turner announced his decision in August. Jay Hartzell will take over as SMU’s leader on June 1 after serving as president of the University of Texas.
Evans had been negotiating with Maryland men’s basketball coach Kevin Willard about a contract extension and possible changes for the program at the time of his departure.