A drastic year of change continues for the Arizona Wildcats, as the university looks to hire Desireé Reed-Francois to be its new athletic director, per ESPN's Pete Thamel. The former Missouri AD is expected to lead the school during one of its most crucial eras yet.

Arizona is in the midst of a financial crisis and will move to the Big 12 this year after residing in the now-dilapidated Pac-12 Conference since 1978. The football team, which finally turned the corner after a decade of disappointment, was also recently forced to find a new head coach following Jedd Fisch's switch to Washington. Reed-Francois is facing plenty of pressure and responsibilities in this new endeavor.

She is clearly not intimidated by any of those hurdles, however. One does not leave the SEC without thoroughly considering their alternatives. Simply put, the Wildcats are a destination job. Reed-Francois served as UNLV athletic director form 2017-21 before spending the last few years at Missouri– where she turned a budget deficit into a surplus.

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Reed-Francois and the program are working towards finalizing a five-year contract that will entrust her to do everything in her power to keep Arizona football on an upward trajectory and Arizona basketball in the upper echelon. Her duties will of course include all sports, but those two behemoths are what can help the school dig its way out of this financial hole.

Desireé Reed-Francois replaces Dave Heeke, who served the post for seven years prior to being dismissed in January. With big things ahead, she will need to make an impact in Tucson right away.