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David Benedict is the athletic director at the University of Connecticut. Under his aegis, UConn won consecutive NCAA basketball championships in 2023 and 2024.

Early life and education

Benedict is a native of Tempe, Arizona. He had his start in football as a ball boy for Mesa Community College, where his father was the coach. After high school he played center and linebacker at MCC, after his father had left the program. He attended Southern Utah University, playing linebacker on the football team. He graduated with a degree in physical education, and obtained a master's degree in sports management from New Mexico Highlands in 1996, where was a graduate assistant football coach.

Sports management career

Benedict got his start in sports management in 1996 at Arizona State University. He was initially hired for only a single task, organizing the event dedicating and naming the football field for former coach Frank Kush. He impressed a top administrator and was offered a position. He describes his first role there as a "gofer...at the very bottom of the ranks." He was there until 2006, having advanced to being associate director of development and executive director of the fundraising Sun Angels Foundation. He left ASU to become assistant AD at Long Beach State; this was followed by a detour into healthcare at Scottsdale Health Foundation. He returned to sports management in 2010 as associate AD at VCU, overseeing fundraising and "development operations." In 2012 he became interim AD, leading the school's transition from the Colonial League to the Atlantic 10. This was followed by stints of two years each at Auburn University, where he was COO of the athletics department, and University of Minnesota.

AD at UConn

In 2016 he was appointed AD at UConn and his time there has been seen as successful:

• The men's basketball team winning back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2004. Major moves by Benedict helped revitalize the "semi-dormant" basketball program; these included hiring Dan Hurley as coach in 2018 and orchestrating a return to the Big East Conference in 2020.
• UConn Huskies women's basketball has maintained national prominence, and in 2024 he extended coach Auriemma's contract through 2029 providing stability for the program.
• He hired Jim Mora in 2021, which revitalized the football program.
• "State of the art facilities" for baseball, softball and men's and women's hockey have ben built
• Department budget shortfalls have been wiped out. He negotiated a $96 million 15 year IMG renewal and multi-year extensions with Nike.

Personal

His wife, Lisa, was a two-time NCAA champion and four-time All-American gymnast at ASU; they have twin sons. His father, Allen, played football under Frank Kush at ASU and was a longtime football coach at Tempe High School and Mesa Community College before he got into athletic administration.

References

1. ^ Stanley, Logan. "UConn AD returns to Phoenix area, where he once worked for Arizona State". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
2. ^ "Living His Sports Dream - Hartford Courant". digitaledition.courant.com. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
3. Cluff, Jeremy. "Arizona State fans push Michael Crow to hire UConn's David Benedict as athletic director". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
4. ^ "David Benedict named interim AD at VCU". CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR. 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
5. "Living His Sports Dream - Hartford Courant". digitaledition.courant.com. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
6. "David Benedict". Lead1 Association. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
7. "David Benedict Named Director Of Athletics". University of Connecticuy Athletics. 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
8. ^ Pricco, Brendon (2024-04-09). "Potential ASU AD candidate is currently in The Valley". Sun Devil Daily. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
9. "UConn athletics relishing rebound amid basketball success, facility upgrades". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. 2024-04-05. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
10. "UConn's Return To The Big East Already Having A Major Impact On The Program". TMG Sports. 2020-05-15. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
11. Cilley, Hayden (2024-04-06). "UConn AD David Benedict embraces hectic schedules for Final Fours". Cronkite News. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
12. Weekly, UConn WBB. "Geno Auriemma signs five-year contract extension". UConn WBB Weekly. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
13. "UConn signs Geno Auriemma to 5-year, $18.7M contract extension". Yahoo Sports. 2024-06-05. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
14. CollegeNetWorth (2024-08-16). "Jim L. Mora - UConn Huskies Contract, Net Worth, Coaching Information - CollegeNetWorth.com". www.collegenetworth.com. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
15. ^ "UConn athletics relishing rebound amid basketball success, facility upgrades". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. 2024-04-05. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
16. Carp, Sam (2018-10-18). "UConn inks US$96m IMG renewal". SportsPro. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
17. Carp, Sam (2017-07-27). "UConn ticks off mega Nike renewal". SportsPro. Retrieved 2025-01-15.