The University of Colorado will have a new athletic director when the 2026 football season kicks off.
On Thursday, longtime athletic director Rick George announced that he is stepping away from his position at the end of the 2025-26 academic year. He will transition to a role as special advisor to the chancellor and director of athletics emeritus.
George’s 42-year career in sports has included the last 12-plus as the Buffaloes’ athletic director. He was hired on July 17, 2013, becoming just the sixth full-time AD in school history. George’s current contract, which runs through June 30, 2027, pays him $1 million annually.
“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,” said George in a press release.
“I wanted to make this announcement now in order to give Chancellor (Justin) 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 (head football coach Deion Sanders) and our football team this season, which I’m looking forward to continuing in my new role.”
A timeline for the hiring of George’s replacement will be announced at a later date, but the school will conduct a national search for a new athletic director at some point.
“I am so grateful to the CU Board of Regents, President (Todd) Saliman, Chancellor Schwartz, and former Chancellor (Philip) DiStefano, for the opportunity to lead this department (since 2013),” George said. “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.”
In his new role, George, 65, will assist CU Athletics by participating in revenue-generating initiatives for the department. He will also work with the football program in some capacity.
“I am truly grateful that Chancellor Schwartz has asked me to stay on as special advisor and AD emeritus after my successor is named, which keeps me connected to CU Athletics while also allowing for plenty of time with my granddaughters Harper and Maddie,” George said. “To my wife Nancy, our daughters Jenni and Christi, family, friends, colleagues and Buff fans — thank you for your incredible support.”
It has been a transformational and eventful tenure for George, who is the third-longest tenured AD in school history. CU’s first two ADs, Harry Carlson (37 years, 1927-64) and Eddie Crowder (19 years, 1965-84) are the only two with longer tenures.
Among current Power Four conference athletic directors, only six have been on the job longer than George.
Shortly after taking the job in 2013, George developed plans for a new indoor facility and then led the most successful fundraising effort in Buffs’ history, generating $100 million in donations to build the UCHealth Champions Center. Ground broke on the project in May of 2014 and the football team moved into its new facility just 15 months later, on Aug. 10, 2015.
(Photo by Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)
Beginning with the Champions Center fundraising, CU athletics has set program records for donations, sponsorships, ticket sales and revenue since George was hired.
George led CU Athletics through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, “creating a model of fiscal responsibility that is now the benchmark in major college athletics,” CU said in its release.
He also led CU through a transition from the Pac-12 Conference to the Big 12 Conference, a move announced in the summer of 2023 and executed in 2024.
Throughout his tenure, George has been a staunch supporter of the CU student-athletes. He created the WHOLE student-athlete program, with an emphasis on physical, psychological, academic and career health for the athletes.
Under George, CU has invested more in mental health resources than ever before, and created the Scripps Leadership & Career Development program to set student-athletes up for their futures. Academically, CU student-athletes have had record-breaking GPA numbers. CU’s student-athlete advisory committee has recognized him three times as its staff member of the year.
George has hired successful CU coaches such as JR Payne (women’s basketball) and Jesse Mahoney (volleyball), and made national headlines when he hired Sanders as head football coach in December of 2022. While Sanders’ current record (16-19) is below expectations, Sanders has generated record-breaking ticket sales and renewed national attention to the program.
George was named the athletic director of the year in 2023-24 by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the first Colorado AD to earn that honor.
While serving as AD, George has also been active nationally, serving as the chair of the LEAD1 Association, as a member of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, and as a key member of the Division I Council.
“Rick’s contributions to our university in his 13 years as head of our athletic department have been incalculable,” Schwartz said in the press release. “He is a nationally respected leader who has always kept CU at the forefront of the dynamic and highly competitive landscape of college athletics. I am grateful for his leadership and am elated he has decided to stay on as a special advisor and AD emeritus.”
A 1982 graduate of the University of Illinois, George first came to CU on March 2, 1987, when he was hired by legendary Buffs’ football coach Bill McCartney as the recruiting coordinator. On Dec. 21, 1989, he was promoted to assistant athletic director for football operations.
George then spent nearly eight years (1991-98) at Vanderbilt University as associate athletic director for external operations and overseeing the football program before he served as the president and CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation from 1998-2003. From 2003-08, he was the president of the Champions Tour and then spent two-and-a-half years as executive vice president and chief of operations for the PGA Tour.
In October of 2010, George left the PGA Tour to join the Texas Rangers baseball club as the chief operating officer. He held that role until a promotion to president of business operations in February of 2013. Five months later, he left the Rangers to return to Boulder.