Colorado AD Rick George to step away, transition to new role

Colorado athletics director Rick George is set to step away in July, the school announced Thursday. He is set to transition to a special advisor role to the CU chancellor and new AD.

George will become a special advisor to the Colorado chancellor and be Director of Athletics Emeritus after this academic year. He took over in Boulder in 2013 and built a strong reputation as a respected AD, and made one of his most notable hires in 2022 when Deion Sanders took over the football program.

All told, George has spent 42 years in sports. He previously worked at Vanderbilt and was the COO to the president of business operations for the MLB’s Texas Rangers. CU said details of a timeline for hiring a new athletics director will come at a later date.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as Athletic Director for the University of Colorado for the last 13 years, but after considerable thought and discussions with my family dating back to last spring, I have decided it is time for new leadership to guide the department,” George said in a statement, in part. “I wanted to make this announcement now in order to give Chancellor Schwartz plenty of time to find the right person for Colorado, and I look forward to doing everything I can to ensure a smooth transition. I also wanted to time my announcement so that I could support Coach Prime and our football team this season, which I’m looking forward to continuing in my new role.

“I am so grateful to the CU Board of Regents, President Saliman, Chancellor Schwartz, and former Chancellor DiStefano, for the opportunity to lead this department. Thank you to our staff, our coaches, our donors, Buff Nation and especially our student-athletes for making this the best job in the country. The University of Colorado is a special place, and I’ll always cherish the incredible relationships I’ve made during my time here in Boulder.”

George previously worked at Colorado in 1987 when the late Bill McCartney hired him as Colorado’s recruiting coordinator, and he later became the assistant athletics director of football operations. In 1991, he left for Vanderbilt until 1998 when he joined the PGA Tour as executive vice president and chief of operations, among other roles.

Then, in 2010, George joined the Texas Rangers and spent three years with the franchise before returning to Colorado in 2013.

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