The SMU Mustangs have a new athletic director. SMU is hiring Damon Evans away from Maryland, per the school’s social media. Evans previously had the same job with Maryland.
“SMU has tremendous momentum in all aspects of its athletics program, but I believe we can push to even greater heights,” Evans said after taking the job.
SMU football just reached the College Football Playoff this last season. The Mustangs now compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference, joining with California and Stanford in 2024.
“Our goal was to find a leader who shared our vision for the future of SMU Athletics – one of continued and even greater national prominence. We found that in a world-class athletic director with experience leading in both the Big 10 and SEC conferences, and who will bring bold, innovative ideas to our campus,” said SMU search committee co-chair and Board of Trustees Chair David Miller, per a statement.
The Mustangs immediately became one of the top brands in the ACC for football. SMU is a historically strong football program, even though the school received the infamous “death penalty” in the 1980s over NCAA violations.
SMU basketball finished its first season in the ACC with an NIT bid. The Mustangs basketball program has 24 wins on the year.
Damon Evans is a win for SMU, and a loss for Maryland
Maryland is dealt a tough blow with the loss of Evans. Evans was working on a major contract extension deal with the school’s basketball coach Kevin Willard.
Maryland was about to make Willard one of the 10 highest paid coaches in college basketball. The Terrapins were also set to invest in a major state-of-the-art basketball practice facility. Without Evans, those plans are all stalled.
“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 added.
Maryland basketball is in the Round of 32 of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, so Terrapins fans have something to cheer about as the school looks for a new AD. Colleen Sorem will be the interim AD at Maryland.
Evans will now be tasked with investing in the basketball program at SMU. The Mustangs haven’t made a NCAA tournament in men’s basketball since 2017. The school’s coach is Andy Enfield, who left USC for SMU. He is in his first season.
Enfield has led both USC and Florida Gulf Coast to NCAA tournaments. He has made the Sweet 16 at both schools, and an Elite Eight appearance with the Trojans in 2021.
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