Wichita State Shockers fire AD Darron Boatright amid criticism school can’t compete in NIL market

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WICHITA, Kan. –Wichita State fired athletic director Darron Boatright on Wednesday amid growing criticism of the university’s inability to compete in the new market for athlete name, image and likeness payments.

University President Rick Muma said in a press release that Boatright had made achievements and successes during his tenure, but “there were significant and persistent concerns which have become acute in recent weeks, those which, in my opinion, could not be solved”. Muma did not elaborate.

Sarah Adams, the school’s senior associate athletic director and senior female administrator, will become acting athletic director while a search is conducted to replace Boatright.

Critics have targeted Boatright in recent weeks because the state of Wichita failed to raise funds after the Supreme Court lifted a ban on compensating college athletes for their names, images and likenesses, The Wichita reported. Eagle. They said it was Boatright’s responsibility to ensure school donors were aware of the new rules and to be prepared with incentives to retain current players and attract new ones.

The men’s basketball program brought eight scholarship players to the NCAA transfer portal this spring.

“Where we went wrong was our focus on educating our athletes about NIL and not just raising money and paying kids to come to Wichita State,” said said Boatright in a previous interview. “We were told all along that it was not chargeable, but now it seems the NCAA has no problem with it, so why not?”

Boatright, who served as athletic director for six years, was granted a two-year contract extension through June 2024, earning him a 37.5% raise to $275,000 a year. Fans have been critical because the expansion was never publicly announced and came during the coronavirus pandemic, The Eagle reported.

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