Wichita State confirms Boatright’s firing
Athletic director out amid difficult year for WSU sports
Wichita State’s Director of Athletics Darron Boatright addresses fans at the State of the American pep rally.
Wichita State has fired Athletic Director Darron Boatright, according to a release from the university. Senior Associate Athletic Director Sarah Adams will serve as the interim director.
Boatright had served in that role since 2015 and recently received a contract extension through 2024. With the raise that came with that extension, Boatright was making an annual salary of $275,000. The extension was never formally announced by the university.
The Sunflower’s request for Boatright’s separation agreement was not immediately fulfilled.
Boatright came to WSU in September 2010 as the senior associate athletic director for external operations. He was promoted to interim director of athletics before being named director of athletics in August 2016.
“While there were certainly achievements and successes during Darron’s tenure, there were significant, ongoing concerns that became acute in recent weeks, ones that I did not believe could be addressed,” WSU President Rick Muma said in the release. “This decision is in the best interests of Wichita State, our coaches and staff and our student-athletes.”
Boatright led the school’s move from the Missouri Valley Conference to the American Athletic Conference in 2017. In the past six years, WSU has captured 25 conference championships and 19 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Controversy has followed Boatright during his tenure, most recently including the 2020 departure of longtime men’s basketball coach Gregg Marshall following allegations of abuse against players. WSU also had two separate investigations into former women’s basketball Jody Adams-Birch, due to accusations of mental and physical abuse.
Fans began to openly question Boatright in recent months after the inactivity following new name, image and likeness rules. Boatright and the athletic department had taken a slow approach to NIL, which many blame for nine men’s basketball players entering the transfer portal after the 2021-22 season. An NIL collective was only formed recently.
Sean Marty was the sports editor for The Sunflower. Marty, a senior from St. Louis, majored in communications with a journalism emphasis and minored in...
GIL SOLIS • May 5, 2022 at 8:42 am
GOOD !
Mark Barlow • May 5, 2022 at 8:08 am
I’m getting pretty irritated with the number of controversies surrounding WSU’s athletic staff, especially with all the non-transparency involved.
We as students ought to know PRECISELY why Boatright was fired, and the specifics leading to that dismissal. It’s unacceptable for President Muma to obfuscate. After all, it’s student tuition paying both Muma’s and Boatright’s salaries, right?
If a teacher or instructor is dangerous to student wellbeing, we deserve to know about it in full.
It seems the athletic department as a whole has systemic problems worth looking into. I’m not aware of any other college on campus with this sort of turnover.