When solicited for what career path he wanted to follow while in the third grade, Mississippi State University athletic director Greg Byrne had already made his decision. When his third grade class was asked to write a paper on their future careers, most of the students went the generic route with their choices.
“I wrote mine on being an athletic director when most of my classmates wrote about wanting to become a veterinarian or a policeman,” he said.
Byrne can now look back on that moment 26 years ago and realize that his dreams of becoming an AD, like his father who works at Texas A&M, finally came to fruition.
On Feb. 21, he was chosen to succeed Larry Templeton at Mississippi State and will assume that role no later than July 1.
“It was very humbling, and I felt truly honored,” Byrne said. “My wife has been so supportive, and my family and I have really come to like Starkville. I feel truly blessed and excited to work with these kids, [MSU President Robert ‘Doc’] Foglesong, the university and the fan base.”
The transition period from current AD Larry Templeton to Byrne, who is currently Mississippi State’s associate athletic director for development and external affairs, doesn’t feature a definite timetable when Byrne will officially take over his new duties.
Byrne’s appointment came after a six-month search by a selection committee and Foglesong. The search featured candidates from various U.S. locations, but Foglesong ultimately selected a candidate who was already in the Bulldog fold.
“I liked his energy and his enthusiasm most of all,” Foglesong said. “He brings a lot of passion to this job.”
At 36 years old, Byrne will become the youngest AD in the Southeastern Conference.
“I think my young age gives me high energy, and I think this is a high-energy job,” he said. “My youth puts me in a good position to really devote the energy that is needed for this position.”
Foglesong said age isn’t an area that weighed very heavily in his mind. He said his chief concern came in the maturity aspect.
His critics could also argue that his young age signifies less experience in the athletic world.
However, Byrne has worked in athletics from his tenure as an intern for the Fiesta Bowl until now in his current position.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have a wide background, so I’m not heading into this without a good working knowledge of any aspect of this business,” Byrne said.
The main focus of his career has been fundraising for athletic programs. He first put his skills to the test at Oregon State University where he helped increase the athletic budget to $45 million.
Current University of Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart was the AD at Oregon State at that time and gave Byrne an opportunity to accept his first associate AD position.
Looking back on it, Barnhart said he made a wise decision.
“Greg is a ferocious worker when it comes to making an athletic department better, and his work ethic is off the charts,” Barnhart said.
After a successful stint at Oregon State, Byrne followed Barnhart to Kentucky where both maintained their positions at their new schools.
Then in 2006, Byrne became an associate AD at Mississippi State.
The knowledge that he accrued at Oregon State and Kentucky assisted Byrne when he was given the chance to interview for the AD job at Mississippi State.
He used his knowledge to assemble a 12-page strategic plan during the interview. Foglesong didn’t require the AD candidates to complete a written plan, but Byrne’s initiative, as well as the information outlined in the plan, helped sway Foglesong toward choosing Byrne.
“We asked for the candidates to have a strategic plan,” Foglesong said. “We talked to the candidates in broad terms, and Greg had a very comprehensive written plan. It was very detailed and specific.”
Byrne felt obligated to assemble the plan because he said it was important for the university to understand what it would be getting if he was chosen as the athletic director.
“I think it’s important to show, as a leader of the department, how you’re going to handle all the entities of the athletic department.”
Since his election as the new AD, he believes he can help generate the funds necessary for the university to reach its highest potential.
“I think if we’re efficient with how we spend our money and if we are as aggressive at maximizing our revenue streams, then we have an excellent opportunity to be competitive in all of our sports,” Byrne said.